I Was Always There, If You Needed Me
by ImaginaryGirlxx
Summary: Rachel's dads had no idea their daughter was being bullied, let alone how bad it was. When they find out they turn to the only person they can think of to help, but will her fame make things better or worse? Set during season 3, slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys :) This is my first Glee fanfic. I hope you enjoy it. It's slightly AU, Shelby is a Broadway star and has never met Rachel. Some common pairings, others will probably appear later on knowing me. I would love to hear what you guys think of this, let me know if it's something worth continuing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. I wish I did but, alas, the TV gods have not allowed it.  
**

Rachel slammed her front door and stormed up the stairs to her bedroom, her eyes filled with unshed tears and her chest feeling like it was going to explode from all the anger brewing inside. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to let all of those bad feelings out but was too scared of what might happen if she did. Most of all, though, she wanted to escape from her life, her school, her home. She wanted to run away and never come back. She wanted her mother.

Instead of wishing for all the things she couldn't have, all the things that would never happen, she just stayed in her room and cried. She didn't know what else to do.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts and had no idea how much time had passed since she got home from school, meaning she didn't even notice her father, Leroy Berry, come into the room and hand her a glass of water.

"Thanks." She whispered, her throat too sore from crying to speak any louder.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Her father asked with concern evident in his calm voice. Rachel merely shook her head and continued crying, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop herself now that her barrier that kept back the tears had been broken.

Leroy knew that Rachel was a bit of a drama queen, but she had never seen her upset like this before. As a child she would throw tantrums and threaten to run away, but never cry like she was now. Him and his partner, Hiram, would always humour her when she said she was running away, knowing that she would never get further than the end of the street before turning back and apologising, promising to never run away again and telling them how much she had missed them and loved them. This time she was different though. He could tell something was seriously wrong.

Gently, her placed his arm around his daughter's shoulders and whispered comforting words to her whilst waiting for her to calm down enough to speak.

"So do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

"No."

"Come on, sweetie. I'm your dad. You can tell me anything."

Rachel paused for a second to think about it. On one hand, she didn't want to tell her dads about the bullying because she knew they would feel guilty and it would upset them to see their baby girl hurting. On the other hand, she wanted it to stop so badly so that she could enjoy the rest of her time at high school and have the best chance possible of becoming a Broadway superstar. Plus she knew now that they would probably worry just as much, maybe even more, if she didn't tell them.

"There's a couple of kids at school who have... ummmm..." She paused, wanting to chose her words carefully. Sensing her hesitation, Leroy reached over to the glass of water that had been left on her dresser. He handed it to his daughter, who had a sip and then just gripped the glass firmly in her lap. She took a breath and figured she might as well just say it. "They've been bullying me, Daddy. They throw slushies at me and it hurts, it really stings, they call me names and say mean things about me."

Rachel broke down in tears once more, just as Hiram closed the front door after arriving home from work.

Hearing the desperate sobs of his only daughter he rushed upstairs to find his partner sat on her bed, trying to calm her down and get her to focus on breathing steadily so as not to send herself into having a panic attack.

Leroy looked up and caught his eye.

'What happened?' Hiram mouthed. Leroy gave him a sad look and then looked at Rachel. He came and sat on the bed next to his daughter, who hadn't even noticed him entering the room.

"Dad!" She said and hugged him tightly, as if scared to let go.

"It's going to be alright, Rach, just tell us what happened."

Her two dads sat there in silence while they listened to what Rachel had to say. She described the daily torment that she faced at school, how she always had at least one, sometimes two, spare pairs of clothes in her bag or locker in case she got slushied. She talked about the long list of names she was called and things people mocked her for.

To Leroy and Hiram the list felt endless. Kids would insult her dress sense, her obsession with Broadway because, apparently, it was considered 'uncool' and they thought she was strange wanting to watch musicals when there were so many new films out in the cinemas, the made fun of the fact that she had two gay dads, making the pair very angry, and most of all they mocked her for the one love she had at school, glee club.

It seemed that the only friends that Rachel had were the New Directions, and even then her parents knew that relationship statuses, friendships and fights amongst the group changed so frequently that some of the time she couldn't even rely on the hour or so she spent with them a day to cheer her up. Apparently today had been one of those days. With all the drama going on between the dozen of those kids, it was difficult for anyone, even Rachel, to determine what actually caused the arguments in the first place.

* * *

Later that evening, once Rachel had gone to sleep, the couple sat down in the living room and talked about the day's events.

"I had no idea any of this was going on." Hiram said.

"Why didn't she tell us sooner?" His partner replied. "I mean, she would always moan about school and everything that went on in glee club. And that teacher that tried to shut it down, what was her name?"

"Sylvester, I think."

"That's it! All the times she moaned about her, I never once thought something as bad as this would be happening to our little baby."

"I just hope she never has to go through anything as bad as what happened to me in high school." Hiram replied, sadly. He had been bullied at school for being gay. They knew it was just because he was different and, especially when they were kids, people were scared of anyone who was different because they didn't understand them. Leroy hadn't had this problem. He didn't come out until college where people were more accepting. Unfortunately, his parents didn't have the same open minds. The words his father said to him that night still haunt him to this day. 'You are not my son. My son was a real man. He's gone now, he's been replaced. Until you can find my son, my son who likes women, I don't want to see you set foot in this house again!' He heard the echo of his father's voice say in his head. That night he had packed his bags and stayed at Hiram's house until the time came for him to return to college. It was New Year's Eve, well technically New Year's Day now, having missed the countdown when packing. He wanted to start the New Year as himself, not having to hide who he was. Hiram's family understood and let him stay. The pair got together that night and have been in love ever since.

* * *

Rachel was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had put glow in the dark stars on it was a child, because 'gold stars are kind of my thing'. She stared up at them as if looking at the night sky. She could imagine that she was somewhere else, maybe on holiday, and pretend that all her worries would have disappeared.

'Why was I never the popular kid?' She thought to herself. 'I mean, I'm not being rude or anything but I'm clearly the most talented singer in the group. Finn is amazing and a great male vocalist to complement my talent, and Mercedes can sing with such passion and soul. Tina could be great if she was more confident, but as her voice is overshadowed by mine at the moment she won't get any solos yet anyway. The rest of the group are good singers and will help us to win Sectionals and even Nationals this year, but none of them can compete with my talent, that much is obvious'

She remembered all the good times they had together, but she knew in her heart that they would only ever remain in the choir room. Santana and Quinn would never talk to her outside of glee. No one did. She thought that things were getting better though, until today. Quinn, the girl who had gone from being her worst enemy to her friend to her acquaintance so many times had just started being nice to her in glee again but today, when she was walking to Spanish class, she had thrown a slushie at her. She was so angry with her. Quinn knew what it was like, she was in the glee club and had had a child a couple of years ago. She'd suffered from the slushies almost as much as Rachel during those nine months. For someone she thought was her friend to do that to her was the final straw. Sitting through Spanish class and glee that afternoon had been near impossible. She held in her tears for just long enough to drive home safely before letting it all out.

She thought back to Finn, her ex-boyfriend. He was lovely and amazingly good looking but being with her made him the target of even more bullying. He was already split by glee and the football team, Rachel didn't want to make his life any harder. She claimed he never understood her and her big dreams and had broken up with him a little over a month ago. Now she was miserable and she knew it was her fault.

How did she feel now that her dads knew about it all? She didn't know. It was still too soon to tell.

Rachel looked around her room at the posters of all the Broadway stars. Her idol, Barbara Streisand appeared many times. So did her new favourite star, Shelby Corcoran. She'd heard about her through Kurt and fell in love with her voice. After finding out she was from Ohio, Rachel instantly felt a connection with her. If Shelby could make her Broadway dreams come true then so could Rachel. She made her believe that anything is possible, making her heart even more set on going to NYADA next year.

Rachel tried to focus on that as she rolled over on to her side and closed her eyes. Exhausted from the day's events, sleep came surprisingly easily to her and she hoped that tonight her dreams would be free from nightmares.

* * *

Back in the living room, Rachel's fathers were still discussing what they could do to help their daughter.

"Why won't you consider getting her to transfer schools?" Leroy asked.

"What sort of message would that send out to her? That running away from her problems would solve everything? How would that help her when she becomes famous and gets some bad press or some rumours come out? She won't be able to handle it. She can't run away from that."

Leroy considered his partner's argument.

"I guess you're right. There is one other solution though."

"What are you thinking?" Hiram asked.

"There's someone else that might be able to help her. Her mother."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the amazing response to this everyone :) especially to sillystarshine, elphieistheshiz, Mona Mari, diana and Wentzie72 who have taken the time to review, and to everyone who has favourited and added this to their story alerts. It really does mean a lot. Here's a short chapter for you guys to say thanks. I have quite a few exams next week *sad Georgie* so don't know how often I'll be able to update. Let me know what you think of this one :)**

Hiram considered his partner's proposal. Would Rachel's mother be able to help her? He didn't know. He didn't even know if she'd want to. Would Shelby Corcoran, Broadway superstar, want to have anything to do with a teenage girl who she hadn't seen since giving birth to her 17 years ago? She'd kept them up to date with her contact details, notifying them whenever she moved house or changed her phone number, and they had done the same. Did this give them the right to contact her? Would she be too busy to come and help, even if she wanted to? Truthfully, he didn't know.

"Do you think she could help?" He asked Leroy.

"It's worth a try, if Shelby wants to. Where did you put her number?"

"I have it in my phone, should we call her now?"

"I guess it can't do any harm." Hiram reasoned. "But what should we say? We've not spoken to the woman in years. Is it right to ask her to drop everything to come and see us?"

"Shelby's lovely. She would do anything to help Rachel." Leroy said with a smile. He really did like the woman and was glad they had found each other at that time. They'd given her the money she needed to start her career, to make a name for herself. She promised to make them proud. And she'd given them a daughter, the most precious gift of all.

Hiram thought about this. Shelby was a lovely woman, of course, and he knew she would always try to help if someone needed it. The couple had fallen in love with her over the year or so they had known each other. But did it seem unfair to ask her for a favour after all these years.

The other thing playing on his mind was how to tell Rachel. She's always been curious about her mother, both of her dads knew that. Shelby was her idol. She admired her and looked up to her almost as much as Barbara Streisand. What if meeting her ruined the dream? It was nice for Rachel to have the element of fantasy in her life. Her mother could be anyone she wanted her to be and she could dream up freak scenarios meeting both her and all the Broadway stars she loved. However, finding out who her mother was could be the best of both of those dreamed combined for their daughter.

"You're right." Hiram responded.

"Do you want to do it or should I?"

"You can, give her my best wishes."

"Okay" Leroy pulled out his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his contacts. He clicked on Shelby's number and put the phone to his ear. She picked up after only a couple of rings.

"_Leroy, hi! How have you been?"_ Came a cheery voice from the other end of the phone.

"I've been alright, so has Hiram. He sends his best. How about you?"

"_Oh, great!"_ She smiled. _"I'm doing really well thanks, luckily you caught me on one of my rare nights in. And how's Rachel?"_

"That's actually what I was calling to talk to you about. She's been having a few troubles at school and we were wondering if you'd be able to help her out. We haven't got a clue what to do."

Shelby frowned. _"What do you mean by 'troubles at school'?"_ She asked, concerned.

"She's being bullied."

"_What? Why haven't you told me this before? Who are these kids?"_

"Shell, we only found out today. She was crying when I came home from work. Apparently it's been going on for a while though." Leroy said, sadly. He filled Shelby in on everything that she had told them that night, Hiram adding in anything he'd forgotten to mention.

Shelby took a minute to take it all in. How could they do that to her daughter? How could someone do that to anyone? She didn't know what they gained from making other people feel so small and insignificant. Surely it can't make them feel better, can it?

She'd never really been bullied at school. She didn't have a big group of friends but they were close and that was all she needed. They do say that your friends are the family you can choose. Whoever 'they' were, they were right. If she had had the chance to chose her family they would be completely different. She never got on with her parents and was an only child. Growing up had been incredibly lonely for her, her friends had helped a lot though. Shelby understood how Rachel felt about school, only her situation was reversed. She could only hope this helped her to identify with her daughter about her problems a bit more.

"_Have you told her about me yet?"_ She wondered aloud.

"Not yet. We didn't know if you wanted her to know."

"_I do want her to know. I really want to meet her. I think about her all the time"_

"I think she thinks about you a lot as well. She's always been curious about who her mother is. Plus she's now got a new Broadway idol. A Miss Corcoran, I believe. Not sure if you've heard of her." Leroy teased, thankful to be able to make the conversation a bit more light-hearted. It had been a difficult night for all of them.

"_The name does ring a bell."_ The star laughed. She was secretly glad they were talking on the phone so the two men couldn't see her blushing. _"I can't believe she even knows who I am."_

"Are you kidding? She loves Broadway as much as her dads do." He said.

"_So do you want me to come to you?"_ Shelby asked.

"That really depends on your schedule, we know how busy you must be."

_"I've actually got almost a week off now. I had an interview this morning but now I have a free calendar. How soon do you want me there? I can try and get a flight out tomorrow?"_ She said, already opening her laptop to look up flight times.

"Sure, if that's not too much trouble." He replied.

_"None at all. There's one at 10:35, so I should easily be there by the time she finishes school as long as there are no delays. Can I ask you one favour though?"_

"Anything." Leroy smiled.

_"Don't tell her I'm coming, I don't want to miss the look on her face."_ She giggled.

"Of course not. Thanks a lot Shelby. We'll see you tomorrow."

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. It definitely went better than either of them had expected.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know I said I had exams but in all honesty writing this is much more fun than learning about muscle contraction and reflexes.**

**Thanks to sillystarshine, Wentzie72, michelle, erika0107, elphieistheshiz, Kalyxia, TheAsianWhoIsAFanzel, tlgonzal and diana for reviewing the last chapter. Hope you like this one :) Enjoy!  
**

Rachel's dads were already in the kitchen by the time she made it downstairs to have breakfast. Hiram was cooking pancakes, which he never did on a weekday. He claimed it was too much effort. Rachel understood, she knew everyone left the house early during the week for work and school. She was just glad it wasn't her other dad cooking. Most of the time he was a great cook but not once had he made a pancake that looked remotely edible.

"What's with the pancakes, dad?" She asked.

"Oh, sweetheart you're awake. How are you feeling? And I just wanted to treat you, it was a difficult day yesterday."

She knew it would be something to do with that. They weren't going to let her forget about it, were they? Of course not. They'd be fussing and worrying and all she wanted to do was forget about it, pretend that it wasn't happening and that school would be fun. She knew it wouldn't happen but she could still dream. Truthfully, she thought it would be easier to just curl up and cry all day and not go to school, but she doubted that her dads would allow it.

"I don't want to go in today." She said quietly. It made such a change from her usual, cheery, confident self that it shocked her dads a bit.

"Sweetie, it's only two more days until the weekend. Will you do it for me? Please?" Leroy asked. He knew she was struggling but he didn't want to see her missing out on her education because of some immature kids who thought it made them big making others feel small. "Come straight home after glee rehearsal and we can talk about it some more if you want? See how you feel about going in on Friday."

"Okay daddy." His daughter replied, knowing there was no way around it today. She just had to get through a few hours and she'd be home again with her dads.

Driving to school, Rachel listened to her playlist of Shelby Corcoran songs. She had such an amazing voice and just thinking of her inspired Rachel and reminded her that her life was not going to be dull and end with her not travelling any further than Lima, Ohio like so many of her classmates. She had big dreams and a plan to get them. She just had to finalise her NYADA application and send it off and she's be on her way out of here. Away from the bullies and slushie throwing, away from the boring people stuck in dead-end jobs where the highest they could achieve was assistant manager at some local fast food restaurant, most of all, away from the bad memories that had haunted her nights and plagued her dreams one too many times. She would be leaving this place in a few months, and she couldn't wait.

She got out of her car and started walking towards the school, trying to keep her head down. She didn't want anyone to notice her and give them the chance to say anything, but she'd also learnt that this way the slushies were less likely to get in her eyes and sting. Despite dreaming of fame, right now Rachel just wanted to be invisible. It seemed she would have no such luck.

"Hey, Midget!" She heard Santana's voice screaming at her from across the hall. "I've heard someone's got a crush on you" She said in a girly, sing-song voice.

"I wonder who it could be?" Quinn taunted.

"We'll give you a clue." Santana continued.

"It's not Lord Tubbington." She heard Brittany saying. She turned to Santana and started whispering. "I confronted him about it last night. He still hasn't owned up to sending all those emails to the Queen of England asking to eat her corgis. I know it was him, It couldn't have been my new hamster, he doesn't know how to type."

While Brittany was boring Santana with details about her cat, Quinn continued to tease Rachel.

"Oh, look. It's your new boyfriend. Go and say hello then." She sneered, pointing and Kurt.

Rachel couldn't help herself. She knew retaliating was probably a bad idea but she couldn't stop her defensive streak from making her talk back.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Really? I thought he'd be just your type. I mean, look at your parents. Your dad and, ummm, your other dad." The group of cheerleaders standing next to her giggled. No one noticed that Santana was the only one of the group not laughing. She caught Brittany's eye and looked at her, sadly.

Rachel felt the tears starting to form in her eyes. She ran into the nearest bathroom and stayed there until her first lesson began.

Kurt had felt sorry for Rachel. She seemed nice enough and they'd had a couple of long conversations about Broadway and their dreams. It was nice for him to talk to someone who understood that feeling of wanting to get out of Ohio and see more of the world. Sometimes he felt like he was her only friend, and even then they weren't that close. They were 'talking about what had been happening recently' close, rather than 'sleepovers and sharing massive secrets' close. As much as he'd wanted to go after her and comfort her, having heard what Quinn had said about her and her dads, he knew it would probably only make things worse. He decided he might ask her about it during lunch or something, just to make sure she was okay.

For Rachel the day seemed to drag so much. All she wanted to do was get home and curl up on her bed with an endless supply of chocolate and one of her favourite musicals. 'Just a few more hours' she kept telling herself. Luckily, most of the day passed uneventfully. She was shocked that by lunchtime she hadn't been slushied once.

She found herself actually dreading going to glee club today, something that never happened. When the time came she forced herself to go, knowing that her dads would only worry more if she came home from school early.

"Hey Rachel" Kurt said as she took a seat next to him.

"Hey" She replied, wanting to be polite but not really feeling up to talking to anyone right now.

"Are you ok? I saw what Quinn was saying to you earlier. I was going to see if you were alright but didn't want to make things worse, under the circumstances"

He's so sweet, Rachel thought. Kurt had been through a lot of bullying through high school as well. He knew how she was feeling and wanted to help. Not ready to really open up to him yet, though, she said a simple 'I'm fine, thanks' just as Mr Schuester entered the room.

Kurt took the hint and stayed quiet, making a mental note to text her later just to see how she was.

* * *

Shelby could barely sleep that night, her mind was buzzing with thoughts of her daughter, and how in just a few hours she would finally get to meet her. Her mind wondered to the real reason she had to go. Rachel was being bullied at school. Hiram and Leroy were worried about her but didn't know how to help. Truthfully, nor did she. All she could hope is that she could do something and, even if she couldn't, perhaps having her mother around would help her in its own way.

What if Rachel didn't like her? From what her dads had said she'd probably dreamt of meeting her before, but what if she didn't live up to her expectations? She didn't know the first thing about being a mother, let alone to a teenage daughter who she's never met. For now she could only hope that they would find something common to talk about and get to know each other so that they could start to sort everything out and make Rachel's school life a lot happier. Besides, she was in her senior year at high school. It was meant to be one of the best years at school she'd have.

Many times, Shelby had wondered what her daughter would be like. Was she clever? How was she finding her classes? What did she want to do with her life? What were her friends like? Did she like Broadway? Could she sing? She knew she would find out the answer to all these questions soon, but for now she figured she should try and get some more sleep. After all, how could she help Rachel if she was walking around half asleep all day?

* * *

Leroy was sat on the sofa in the living room, half-watching some rubbish daytime television show and waiting for his partner to arrive. He always finished work early on Thursdays and Fridays, meaning that he was back first. Hiram had agreed to try and finish work early so that he could get home before Shelby arrived. They knew she would be at their house by around 1pm, providing there were no delays at the airport and the traffic wasn't too bad.

He heard a car pull up outside his house, looking at his watch he saw in was almost 1, meaning it could be Shelby. A knock on the door confirmed this to him as he knew Hiram had his keys with him.

"Hi Shelby." He said as he opened the door. "How was the flight?"

"Leroy!" She almost screamed as she pulled him into a hug. "I'm just glad the plane wasn't delayed. The guy next to me was a bit of a creep, to say the least." Being famous, Shelby was used to first class flights and having a long time to pack and get ready. However, this was a very last minute plan so she couldn't get the first class seats she loved. It wasn't that she was snobby, she just preferred the privacy. She hated being recognised when all she wanted to do was relax and read a book. Of course, the better seats helped as well.

"Well you're here now anyway. Make yourself at home. Hiram should be back any minute."

"Great, I can't wait to see him again." Shelby smiled. Then she remembered why she was here and her face fell. "How was she this morning?" She asked.

"Didn't want to go to school, as expected. She didn't make much of a fuss but you could tell she wasn't happy. I've said we'll talk about it more this evening, hinting that we might let her have tomorrow off. I think that's the only thing getting her through today, Shell. I really don't know what to do." Leroy answered, feeling a couple of tears come to his eyes.

Shelby noticed this and gave him another hug, before he led them to the living room. They were only there about 5 minutes before the door unlocked and Hiram came in. Noticing Shelby, he instantly went up and hugged her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. The three of them talked comfortably for a bit, although the men could tell Shelby was still feeling a bit worried about meeting Rachel.

* * *

As she got back into her car to drive home, Rachel finally relaxed. After glee she'd practically sprinted to her car, wanting to get out of school as quickly as possible. She drove to the local convenience store on her way home and bought as much chocolate as she felt she could hide in her, already rather full, schoolbag.

She arrived home to see both of her dads' cars on the driveway. Usually, Hiram was back later on a Thursday so the sight confused her slightly. She brushed it off though as she unlocked her front door. She thought she heard a woman's voice coming from the living room but couldn't be sure. They all shut up the second they heard the door slam. Curious, dumped her schoolbag in the hallway and made her way to the living room.

Sitting on her couch she saw none other than Broadway star Shelby Corcoran.


	4. Chapter 4

**Revision is boring so here it is, I hope it lives up to your expectations. Quite nervous about posting this chapter if i'm honest.**

**Thanks again to my lovely reviewers: TheAsianWhoIsAFanzel, elphieistheshiz, BigTimeGleekBTR, Mona Mari, michelle, tlgonzal and diana.  
**

Rachel could do nothing but stare in shock at the woman sat there between her dads.

"Wh...what's she doing here?" She said, obviously in shock.

"Shelby's come to see you, sweetheart." Leroy replied. They hadn't really discussed what they were going to do when Rachel got home so he guessed they would just have to improvise.

"Oh my god! Really? Why? I mean, wow! I'm so honoured to meet you, Miss Corcoran. I really am. I've got all your songs on my iPod and I've always wanted to meet you and see you live and..."

Rachel had to pause and take a breath. She'd been speaking so fast she wasn't even sure if anyone could understand a word that she'd just said.

"Rachel, dear, calm down." Shelby smiled. "Take a deep breath"

The young girl did as she was told and decided to take a seat on the chair across the room.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Your dads invited me." The older woman said simply, as if it was no big deal.

"Leroy, darling, do you think we should give these girls some privacy?" Hiram asked his partner, who nodded, both men sensing that Shelby wanted to do this alone. For this, she was very grateful. She wanted the chance to speak to her daughter on her own and try and figure out the best way of telling her that she was her biological mother.

They decided to go for a walk together and give them some space. They didn't know what Shelby planned to do but they figured she wouldn't want them eavesdropping.

Rachel watched as her dads left the room. Her brain seemed to be going at 100 miles an hour. Why was Shelby Corcoran here? At her house? How had her dads managed to get in contact with her and why would she even come all the way from New York just to see her?

Once the two men had left the room, Shelby motioned for her daughter to come and sit next to her.

She noticed Rachel hesitate so she gave what she hoped was an encouraging and friendly smile. Right now she couldn't tell whether her daughter looked excited, nervous or confused. Probably a mixture of all of them, Shelby reasoned.

"Ummm... why are you here?" Rachel asked again. No one was being very specific or helpful.

"Like your dad said, to see you. We were good friends a few years back, before you were born and before I became famous. I knew they were having you through a surrogate and wanted to finally get a chance to meet you and catch up with them." Shelby tried to explain.

She didn't want to tell her the whole truth yet. She hoped it would be easier if she let Rachel get to know her first and get over the shock of her being here.

"You knew my dads?"

"Yeah, it must have been just before you were born."

"Why did they never tell me about this?" She asked. Her dads knew how much she admired Shelby as a performer, she couldn't understand why they wouldn't mention it to her.

"I don't know, sweetie, you'll have to speak to them about that later maybe." Shelby replied. She didn't like lying to her daughter so instead she tried to steer the conversation away from family and try and work out how to help with the bullying situation, the real reason she'd come to Ohio at such short notice. "So, how was school today?"

How was she supposed to answer that? She couldn't tell a famous Broadway star that she was being bullied, she'd think she was pathetic. She decided to stick with 'It was good' and hope that it was a good enough answer.

Shelby figured it wouldn't be this easy. From what she'd been told, school hadn't been 'good' for a while.

"Can I come and see one of your shows?" Rachel blurted out. She hadn't meant to but it was something that had been playing on her mind since she arrived.

Shelby smiled and tried to suppress a little giggle. From what she's heard this girl could sing in front of a full house of people, but when it came to talking to her she became a nervous wreck.

"Of course you can. Maybe you could come over in the holidays and see it? Stay in a fancy New York hotel? Well, if your dads would allow me to treat you all to it. But I know what they're like when it comes to accepting gifts." Shelby took her chance. "Or, you could come and stay at my apartment."

Rachel just stared at her in shock. Being lost for words was not something she was used to but had Shelby Corcoran just asked her to stay at her apartment?

"Correct me if I'm way off the mark but can I assume that's a 'yes'?"

The young girl nodded.

"Your dads have told me a lot about you." She tried, hoping to find a topic of conversation that would make the usually confident girl less nervous. "You like singing?"

"Yes, as much as I like Broadway, maybe more! I hope to be as talented as you some day Miss..."

"It's Shelby." The older woman cut in.

"Sh... Shelby?"

She nodded. 'Wow' she thought, 'this girl really was starstruck'.

"Can I hear you sing?"

Rachel appeared to be instantly more in her element. Singing was something she knew she could do, something she'd been doing all her life and was, in her not so modest opinion, really good at. She could sing in front of a room full of people competing for a national championship, she knew she could do it in front of one woman.

"Okay." She smiled. "Will you sing with me?"

"If you want me to."

The pair sang _Somewhere_ from West Side Story. Shelby was blown away by Rachel's talent and knew instantly that her Broadway dreams would be possible. She was easily more talented than a lot of performers the star had met.

She felt a few tears trying to fall from her eyes but quickly wiped them away, hoping Rachel didn't notice. She was so proud of her daughter, she'd turned into such a gorgeous young woman with passion, confidence and a beautiful voice. She figured singing with her meant as much to Shelby as it did to Rachel, having just met her idol.

"That was amazing Rachel. You've got a lovely voice."

"Thanks." She said, having regained some of her confidence. "I'm one of the lead singers in our school's glee club."

"I bet you're the best one there."

Rachel blushed. She was used to receiving compliments about her voice but recently all she'd received were negative comments, not really about singing, more just little things the kids at school could pick up on that they knew would knock her confidence.

To have a Broadway star tell her she was amazing meant the world to her. She doubted anyone from school would have experienced that.

Rachel's phone beeped in her pocket, indicating that she had a text. She hesitated, not wanting Shelby to think she was being rude by answering it.

"Are you going to get that?" She asked.

"No, I doubt it's anything important. Probably one of those junk texts from people trying to get you to claim for an accident that you've never actually had." Rachel brushed it off. Truthfully, she was scared it was someone trying to upset her, she didn't want to burst into tears over it.

"Okay." She said, as Rachel's phone beeped again. "Looks like someone's really trying to get hold of you. You can answer it, I don't mind" Shelby smiled.

Rachel opened her phone to see three messages from Kurt. That was strange, she must not have heard it go off the first time.

"_Hi Rach, just checking you're okay after today. You don't really think I was convinced by what you said in the choir room, do you? xx"_

That text was sent about half an hour ago. Rachel sighed and moved on to the next message.

"_Hi it's me again. Why haven't you replied? I'm worried about you xx"_

"_Okay Rachel I get that you don't want to talk to me but just let me know you're ok or I'm coming over xx"_

She sent a quick reply telling Kurt she was fine just a bit busy, promising to talk to him tomorrow if she got the chance.

"Boyfriend or secret admirer?" Shelby asked.

"No just a guy from school." Rachel replied, receiving a knowing look from the woman on her sofa. "It's not like that, he's gay."

She laughed and threw the pillow she was resting on at Shelby who gave her a mock glare before throwing it back at her daughter. The pair collapsed into giggles, both of them finally feeling a bit more relaxed.

"Did you tell him I was here?" Shelby asked.

"No, I wasn't sure if you wanted people knowing."

"Thanks, I just want more of a chance to spend a bit of 'alone time' with my daughter."


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter, I know a lot of you have been dying to read this one. Hopefully it will live up to expectations :)**

**Thanks again to all my lovely reviewers. I love you all and I'm sending you imaginary cupcakes now, along with this chapter, as a thank you.  
**

Rachel was frozen in shock. If Shelby wasn't so terrified of her reaction the expression on her face would've been hilarious.

The older woman inwardly cursed at herself for her stupid Freudian slip. She knew, subconsciously, that she'd started referring to Rachel as her daughter in her head but she hadn't meant for it to come out like that.

"What did you just say?" Her daughter said, so quietly she could barely hear her.

"Would you believe me if I said 'nothing'?" Shelby answered with a nervous giggle.

"Is it true?"

"Yes, sweetie, it is. Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know." Rachel replied honestly. "Were you going to tell me?"

"Of course I would have, I just didn't want to shock you too much and scare you away before I had a chance to get to know you. I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't want to lie to you but I was afraid that if I told you, you'd hate me. If you want me to leave I will. You never have to see me again if you don't want to." Shelby was aware that she was ranting. She was just so scared that she'd messed everything up. "Do you want me to go right now? I'll call a cab and leave, just say the word. Shall I phone your dads? Tell them to come back now and look after you?"

Rachel moved an inch closer and placed her hand gently on the Shelby's arm. This shut her up immediately. She watched as a single tear fell from her eye and pulled her the older woman into a hug.

"You don't hate me?" Shelby asked tentatively, once they had let each other go.

"No. Is that why you're here?"

"Part of the reason." Rachel looked at her, silently telling her to continue. "Your dads phoned me after they found out about the hard times you've been having at school."

Rachel's face fell. 'So that's what this is all about' she thought.

"Why had you never come to see us before?"

"I wasn't allowed." She said simply, even though the thought pained her she tried not to show it.

"Why not?"

"When your fathers picked me to be their surrogate, they were so worried that I would back out at the last minute and want to keep you that they drew up a contract stating that I couldn't try and make contact with you until you were eighteen. I soon realised that that was a lot harder than it sounded on paper though." Shelby explained.

Rachel reached for her phone.

"What are you doing? Are you telling that boy from your school? Are you phoning the police? Oh please don't phone the police. I promise I'm telling the truth."

"Relax." Rachel smiled, the first time she'd done so since she found out. "I'm just texting my dads. I think we need a bit more time alone."

"_Hi dad. Shelby told me. Can you give us a bit longer please? xxxx"_

The reply was almost instant.

"_Of course, sweetheart. Call me when you want us to come back. We're at Mark and Laura's. We love you xxxxxxxx"_

"They're at a friend's." Rachel said after reading the message. "Do you want anything to eat? I'm just going to make myself some toast."

"I'll have a couple of slices please, if it's not too much trouble."

She returned a couple of minutes later with a tray with her plate of toast on and a variety of spreads and jams for her to choose from. Rachel left again and came back with her own plate of toast. Shelby thanked her and the pair ate in silence for a minute, giving them both some time to process what had just happened.

"How are you feeling, baby?" She asked once they had finished eating. She saw Rachel's body tense slightly when she said the word 'baby'. Had she gone too far too soon? "Sorry, do you want me to stick to calling you Rachel?"

"No it's fine, I'm just still in a bit of a shock I think." Her daughter replied, before getting up and leaving the room. She returned seconds later with a glass of water and two bars of chocolate that she'd bought earlier on her way home from school. Offering one to Shelby, she began to unwrap the other and break off a bit. "Can I have a couple of minutes to think about this?" She asked.

"Of course, take as long as you need. Do you want me to go somewhere else while you do?"

Rachel shook her head, before eating the first square of her chocolate. She was sat at the opposite end of the sofa to Shelby, even though all she really wanted to do was cuddle up to her mother and cry. It really had been an emotional couple of days for her.

Shelby Corcoran was her mother? Her mum was on Broadway? Her mum played Elphaba in Wicked? Rachel couldn't believe it. Just meeting her would have been a dream come true but this? It was almost too much, too good to be true. But was it? She'd come here because her dads had asked her to, did she really want to come or was she just being nice? Rachel knew she was annoying, did Shelby think she was too? It wouldn't surprise her, she did seem to get constant reminders of the fact at school. She'd always thought she was pretty much the most talented person in her school but even now she felt so inadequate next to Shelby. Would she love her? What if she didn't?

At the opposite end of the sofa, Shelby was also lost in her own thoughts and feelings of inadequacy. She so desperately wanted Rachel to like her, and to feel comfortable around her. What if she never was? She'd sprung too many surprises on her today she didn't know how well she would handle it. She wasn't talking. Why hadn't she said anything? It had been ages. She caught Rachel's eye and gave her a weak smile, it wasn't much but it was the best she could muster feeling this level of fear. She noticed they'd both finished their chocolate bars. Shelby always had chocolate when she was upset. It was her way of making herself feel better. It seemed she may have passed this trait on to her daughter. Leroy had also told her about the water situation. They would get Rachel a glass of water every time she became upset and over time the line between being upset and thirsty seemed to blur. As much as she loved hearing about details and events from Rachel's childhood, it also made her more upset about the fact that she hadn't been there to witness them.

She noticed Rachel moving out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, the teenager got up and moved across the sofa to sit next to her mum. Shelby put her arm around the young girl and gave her a little squeeze to let her know she was ready to talk when Rachel was.

"Where do we go from here?" Rachel asked quietly. "What does all this mean?"

"It can mean whatever you want it to."

"I don't know yet."

"Okay. Do you want to forget this ever happened?" Rachel shook her head. "Do you still want to see me?" This time she nodded, indicating a 'yes'. "Can I stay here tonight? Or do you want me to get a hotel?"

"You can stay here." She answered, receiving a smile from Shelby. "Do I call you 'mum' now?"

"Do you want me to be your mum?"

Rachel considered this for a bit. "I'm not sure yet." She decided.

"That's okay. Whatever you decide I'll be fine with. I just want to make this as comfortable as it can be for you." She said. She knew that could be difficult but she would do anything for her daughter's happiness, including flying to see her with less than a day's notice, evidently. "Shall we stick to you calling me 'Shelby' for now? When the time feels right you can call me mum, but only if you want to."

"That sounds like a good idea. I don't think I'm going to tell anyone else about this yet."

"I think it's for the best." Shelby replied. She didn't want the media finding out about this, they'd have a field day. It would change Rachel's life forever. They were enough to handle for Shelby, a fully grown, confident woman who had been dealing with them for years. She could only imagine the stress it would cause her teenage daughter, especially when she was feeling so fragile anyway.

"What's it like? Broadway?" Rachel asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything." She smiled. "Anything and everything."

"You don't ask for much do you?" Shelby teased. She looked at her watch. "It's getting late. How about you get washed and ready for bed and I'll meet you upstairs in about 10 minutes?"

"Okay."

"While you're there I'll phone your dads and let them know everything's fine and they can come back." She paused and the younger girl got up to leave the room. "Rachel?" She called out.

"Yeah?"

"If it's alright with your dads, do you want to come and stay with me over your spring break?"

Rachel couldn't believe it. "I'd love to!" She replied.

Shelby beamed. 'Maybe this would be okay after all.' She thought.

It only took seconds after getting into her bed for Rachel to realise how tired she was. It had been a difficult day and she wasn't really sure how much of what had happened had truly sunk in yet. Shelby came up minutes later and Rachel was already struggling to keep her eyes open. Shelby just sat at the foot of her bed and told stories of the glamour of Broadway and the atmosphere and emotion both on and off stage when she was performing. She talked about winning her first Tony award and how she was so overwhelmed that she was practically crying when she went up to accept it. She remembered how she was competing with a co-star for the award and giving her a quick kiss before she went up onto the stage. They both looked over the moon that she had won.

Shelby wasn't exactly sure when her daughter had managed to drift off but she could tell she was fast asleep when Hiram poked his head around the door.

She followed him downstairs to the kitchen where he offered her a glass of wine which she willingly accepted.

The pair walked through to the living room again where Leroy was already sat.

"How did she take it?" He asked.

"I don't think she's really processed it properly yet. She was in shock, to say the least. She's agreed to come and stay with me over spring break, as long as you're okay with that."

"I think it would be good for the pair of you to get to know each other better." Hiram smiled. "She didn't bother you too much with too many questions about Broadway did she?"

"No she was lovely. She did ask about it and I was telling her stories upstairs before she fell asleep."

"Are you happy you told her?"

"Well it didn't really go exactly as I'd planned, but I think it worked out alright. She doesn't hate me, which is a start." Shelby answered.

"Did you ever think she would? Everyone loves you! You even made the Wicked Witch of the West likable." Leroy exclaimed.

"How did it happen?" His partner asked.

"We were talking about her telling her friend that I was here and I said something along the lines of wanting to 'spend a bit of 'alone time' with my daughter'. Stupid Freud." She giggled.

"But she was okay eventually?" Shelby nodded. "That's alright then. I've got a funny story about Freudian slips" Hiram said, hoping the anecdote would make Shelby feel less awkward about her mistake.

"Oh, the teacher story?" Leroy asked with a smile.

"Yeah." He turned to face Shelby. "My psychology teacher in high school told me about a teacher she had worked with at an all girl's school. He was quite young and attractive and all the students loved him. Anyway, he was teaching one of the older classes and wanted them to open their books so that he could start the lesson. Instead, he said 'I want you all to open your legs to page 12'." He laughed.

This made Shelby relax a bit more, knowing that things could have been worse. She was just happy that Rachel had accepted her and didn't hate her. She didn't know how she could have lived if her daughter hated her.

Hiram and Leroy started talking about funny high school and college memories but Shelby was too busy lost in her own thoughts to join in the conversation.

She'd suffered from depression in the years after Rachel's birth. Even doing what she loved and performing on Broadway couldn't bring her out of it some nights. After a lot of therapy and courses of antidepressants she was able to get herself back on track and start enjoying her life. Besides, she could see Rachel when she turned 18 and vowed to make her daughter proud of her. She hoped that she had done that now and soon they'd be close and able to enjoy each other's company without feeling awkward of feeling terrified of saying the wrong thing. Shelby knew it would be unrealistic for her daughter to accept her as her mother straight away but she would settle for the 'older sister' or 'cool auntie' role for now, as long as she was part of Rachel's life. She vowed to be there whenever she needed her from now on.

**A/N: The story about the teacher really happened. I just thought I'd put it in here to give you guys a giggle :) xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to all my lovely reviewers again :) I'm sorry this chapter took a bit longer but I've finished all my exams now so you can start to expect more frequent updates. Hope you like it :)**

Shelby couldn't sleep. She was in the Berry's spare room staring into space trying to get her head around everything that had happened in the past couple of days. It was one thing promising to be there for her and take things at her pace, but what if Rachel never got used to the idea that she was her mum? She didn't know if she could take it. Her depression was under control, yes, but that didn't mean she didn't have bad days and by no means did that guarantee that it wouldn't come back as bad, if not worse, than last time. What if she was only ever a friend to her daughter? Someone who would take her to nice places and help hopefully get to help her with her promising career but could never be her mum? Of course just being in her life would be great, but Shelby wondered if it would really be enough for her. Could she deal with it? Whatever happened, she promised herself that Rachel would never find out how badly giving her up had affected her. She wanted her daughter to look up to her and trust her, not think of her as someone who couldn't even look after herself.

She knew was different now though, she was stronger. There were still times that she had to be careful, she'd cut her nails short before she left and bought wax for her legs so that she wouldn't be tempted to... No! Stop this, Shelby! Don't think about it, she told herself, knowing it wouldn't help anyone.

Fully aware that she needed a distraction, Shelby looked at her phone. She had a message from her agent, Kimberly, reminding her for the hundredth time that she still hadn't confirmed if she'd be going on The Ellen Show. She replied, saying that she would go as long as it was not over the spring break but asking Kim not to question it. They got on well but she wanted to know everything that was going on in her life. Still, she was just doing her job and Shelby couldn't really complain, she'd got her loads of work and was great at what she did.

Eventually, Shelby's body gave in to tiredness after a day of travelling and releasing emotions that had been building up for nearly 18 years. Once Hiram and Leroy had gone to bed she broke down in tears. She wasn't even sure why but she couldn't calm herself down. She was sure that the older men could hear her but also knew them well enough to know that they wouldn't disturb her for fear of making her uncomfortable, a gesture that was greatly appreciated.

* * *

Rachel woke to the sound of _Don't Rain On My Parade_ blasting from her alarm, as it did every morning. She thought it strange, that something so normal would happen after yesterday. It seemed almost insignificant, but it definitely brought her down from her high. Her early alarm reminded her that she still had to face going to school today, she had to face everyone again and, to add to that, she'd have Kurt questioning her about why she wasn't replying last night. What could she say? She promised him an explanation. He would freak if he knew the truth and would definitely want to be her friend if she told him. But that wasn't fair on anyone. Besides, could she trust him not to tell? Honestly, she didn't know.

Deciding not to think about it, Rachel started getting ready for school as normal. She would just have to get through today and could spend as much time as possible with Shelby before she had to leave.

Much to her dads' surprise, the teenager left for school without a fuss. They had all tried to be quiet around the house, knowing that Shelby hadn't had much sleep and would probably be grateful that she wasn't woken up at 6am by the usual rushing and noise in the Berry household every morning.

* * *

_I've been running in your direction  
For too long now  
I've lost my own reflection  
And I can't look down  
If you're not there to catch me when I fall._

Rachel listened to the lyrics of one of her favourite songs, realising not for the first time how it seemed to describe her feelings towards her mother almost perfectly. She relaxed and sung along as she drove to school, hoping that her good mood would last.

"If this is the moment, I stand here on my own  
If this is my rite of passage that somehow leads me home  
I might be afraid  
But it's my turn to be brave"

As she sang, the lyrics began taking her mind to places of bullying and unhappiness. Then she remembered the previous day's events and decided that worrying about the stupid kids at school was pointless, knowing that when she got home she would be able to finally get to know her mother after years of wanting and praying for her to come.

Finding out who her mother was really did prove to Rachel that you never know what a person has been through, even if you follow them on twitter, know their songs by heart and have watched every video and read every article on them in existence. She could only hope that some of her peers would grow up and realise this sooner rather than later. They may think they know her as the talented, annoying girl with two gay dads but they didn't seem to realise that she had feelings too.

Rachel was so deep in thought that she almost didn't realise she'd arrived at school until she heard Kurt tapping on her window. She must have been driving practically on autopilot.

"Earth to Rachel!" He yelled.

Shaking herself out of her dazed state, Rachel opened the car door and greeted Kurt.

"So, what's up? You were completely out of it back then."

"Sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

"Is this about those idiots at school?" Kurt asked.

"Something like that." She mumbled.

"What was up with you last night?"

Rachel sighed, she knew this was coming.

"Nothing, Kurt." She said, trying to put on the most convincing smile possible. Obviously, he wasn't fooled. She could tell this from his expression. "Look I said it's nothing, okay? Just drop it. I will tell you what's wrong if and when I decide I want to but not before so don't push it!" The young diva yelled. She slammed her car door and locked it, before rushing to her first lesson.

School dragged by just like every other day, although today it seemed to take ten times as long.

It seemed everywhere she turned someone would give her a funny look or call her names. By lunch she was starting to get paranoid. Did they know? The rational part of her brain told her it wasn't possible and she was just being stupid and overreacting. It was just like any other day, except now she had a mother.

By the time glee finished, Rachel was certainly ready to go home. Luckily she'd managed to go a whole day without getting slushied. Two days straight, she thought, it must be a new record. As she was thinking that, however, Karofsky came around the corner with a slushie, obviously pissed at having an after school detention, and appeared to be looking for someone from the New Directions to take his frustration out on. With Rachel rushing out of the choir room in a desperate attempt to get home, she became the footballer's target.

She felt the cold drink splash on her face. Her eyes stung and the red liquid was already starting to drip down her top. The humiliation she felt every time this happened came flooding back and she rushed into the nearest girls' bathroom to try and wash her face.

Once she'd cleaned herself up she went to her locker to get some spare clothes, only to remember that she'd forgotten to bring some more after the slushie attack on Wednesday, what with everything that had been going on at home. She was just thankful that it was the end of the school day and she could get changed as soon as she got home. Her dads knew about the bullying now, she didn't have to hide her 'slushied' clothes from them any more for fear of questioning and them finding out.

Rachel swore to herself when she got into her car. Shelby was going to see her! That was the last thing she wanted. She looked a mess. What would her mum think of her looking like this? Would she not want anything to do with her? Would she leave just as quickly as she arrived? Then she thought about how perfect Shelby always looked in all the photos and videos of her online. She even managed to look gorgeous with her face covered in green makeup.

She couldn't hold in her tears any longer. She wanted her mother, her mum. She so desperately wanted her to love her. Looking at her reflection, she couldn't see how anyone would. She was a mess, there was still slushie in her hair and her eyes were already swollen from the drink and she knew that crying would only make that worse. The sting of both the iced liquid and the humiliation of what happened was almost too much for the teenager to handle. Realising that she still had to drive home, Rachel pulled herself together, dried her eyes and started the car. Staying in her car park would accomplish nothing apart from briefly putting off the inevitable.

Unlocking the door, Rachel could hear Leroy and Shelby talking in the living room. She tried to sneak upstairs and change before either of them saw her.

"Rachel, dear, would you come in here for a moment?" Her dad called to her. She should have known she wouldn't be so lucky.

Slowly, she walked into the room. Shelby gasped when she saw her daughter and rushed across the room to her, with Leroy not far behind.

"What happened?" She asked, her mind instantly filling with the most improbable possibilities as to why the young girl had red liquid down her front.

"Nothing." Rachel mumbled. She knew they wouldn't buy it so told them the truth. "Okay, fine I was slushied. If you don't mind, I'd like to go upstairs and change. I don't like standing around in cold, wet clothes."

The teenager stormed upstairs, unaware that two of her parents were sharing a silent conversation behind her. Leroy persuaded Shelby to go after her, hoping that mother and daughter could bond and maybe Rachel would start to feel more comfortable with the whole situation.

Rachel slammed her bedroom door and sat on her bed crying. She didn't even have the energy to change her clothes, she just wanted to disappear. She hadn't meant to shout and yell and she knew her dad would be angry for her reacting like that to such a simple question. As for Shelby, she didn't know what she would think of her now. She'd probably think she was just an immature kid and want nothing to do with her.

Meanwhile, Shelby was waiting outside Rachel's bedroom, listening for signs that she'd finished getting changed so that she could go in. Instead she heard crying. The muffled sobs of a girl in pain. Not just any girl either, her daughter, her baby. She was hurting and Shelby hated it.

Gently, she knocked on the door and asked to come in. When she didn't get a response she pushed the door open slowly and walked in to sit next to her daughter.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.

"No. It's no big deal, it happens almost every day."

"Rachel, hunny, if someone is able to reduce you to tears then it is a big deal. Have you talked to the Principal about this?"

"I haven't, but other kids have. Apparently slushies aren't on the school board's list of suspension-worthy weapons or some shit like that."

"Language." Shelby warned. Rachel mumbled an apology. If she wasn't so upset she would have been annoyed that her newly found mother thought she had the authority to do that but as it was she really didn't want to start another argument and make everyone feel even worse. "And that's just unacceptable."

"There's nothing we can do about it though." She said, looking down as if in defeat.

"Sweetie, look at me." Rachel raised her head slightly, keeping her eyes focussed on the sleeve of her cardigan that she was currently fiddling with. "Did they hurt you?"

"It stings my eyes a little bit but to be honest I'm used to it by now, all the glee kids are."

"Come here, Rachel" She said softly, enveloping the young girl in a hug. "It's going to be okay. We'll stop this for you. Now, shall we get you cleaned up?"

Rachel nodded and moved away from Shelby to get some clean clothes out from her wardrobe. Silently, she put her favourite old hoodie and a pair of leggings on her bed, not wanting to fuss with any nice clothes when all she was going to do was sit around at home. She realised that Shelby didn't care that she looked a mess and this thought alone made her feel a lot more comfortable. She walked into her en-suite and took a quick shower to get rid of the remaining slushie from her hair and down her front while Shelby waited patiently on her bed.

While she was in the shower, her mother took the opportunity to have a proper look around the room. Covering the walls were pictures of famous Broadway actors and various signed playbills, all framed. She noticed there were more than a couple of posters and photographs of her on there, which made her unable to contain a smile.

It wasn't long until Rachel came out of the bathroom, combing through her long hair.

"Do you want me to do that?" Shelby asked before she could help herself.

Rachel blushed slightly and nodded. She knew she was no longer a kid and was capable of brushing her own hair but she could tell her mother really wanted to do it for her. She had to admit she'd missed someone doing that to her. He dads would help her with her hair when she was younger. It was long and hard for the young girl to manage but they hadn't done it in years. She handed Shelby the brush and sat in front of her on the bed.

As she was brushing through her daughter's gorgeous brown locks, Shelby started singing. Rachel recognised the song instantly, she'd been listening to it only this morning on her way to school.

_At least it's the first day of the rest of my life  
I can't be afraid  
Cause it's my turn to be brave_

Rachel joined in after the first chorus and the pair sang beautifully together. They both wished that they could hold this moment in their hearts forever because, no matter how unfortunate the circumstances, it was perfect and exactly what both women had been dreaming of for the past 17 years.

"Mum?" Rachel asked, turning around.

Shelby nodded as she tried to fight back the tears forming in her eyes after hearing that word come from her daughter's lips.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Shelby replied, letting the tears flow freely now and smiling from ear to ear.

**A/N: The song is Brave by Idina Menzel. Although I expect that's stating the obvious to a lot of you. If not listen to it, it's really good :) xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the last chapter. Every review means the world to me so please take the time to let me know what you think of this one :)  
**

**Sorry again for the wait. I wish I had a good excuse but I've just been struggling with this chapter and I don't really know why. I've tried to make it as good as I can though. Enjoy!**

Rachel looked over her shoulder to see Shelby crying, she just hoped that they were happy tears.

"Is it okay that I called you 'mum'?" She asked, unsure.

"Of course it is, baby." Shelby smiled. "You can't imagine how long I've wanted to hear you call me that."

"You're crying." Rachel stated, turning around to face her mother.

"I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed. I didn't think you'd accept me so soon." She admitted.

"I don't think I've thought of much else since I found out. I was so worried about you not liking me, especially today when I came home covered in that slushie."

"Oh, honey! Is that what you thought? I love you. Nothing that those idiots at your school do to you is ever going to change that, you know that, right?"

"I do now." The young girl smiled and hugged. "Thank you, mum."

The pair sat silently for a while, happy that they had finally found each other and felt they could be more comfortable and honest around each other. Shelby had feared that this could take years, that maybe her daughter would never get used to it. Thankful that this was not the case, she allowed a small smile to pass over her lips, one which didn't go unnoticed by Rachel, who smiled back at her.

Meanwhile, Hiram had arrived home from work and Leroy was filling him in on what had happened. The pair talked comfortably for a while, enjoying each others' company and waiting for their daughter and her mother to come downstairs. The whole family hadn't had a chance to talk together about what had been happening and they hoped that the two women would be back soon so they could assess the situation and find out how well Rachel was really adjusting to the news.

"Do you think one of us should go upstairs and check on them?" Hiram asked his partner.

"I'd give them a few more minutes." He replied.

As if on cue, the two men heard footsteps coming down the stairs not 30 seconds after they'd finished talking.

"Hey, sweetie." Hiram said when he saw his daughter enter the room. "Come and sit down." He patted the space on the sofa next to him.

Rachel made her way over to her dad, leaving Shelby standing, somewhat awkwardly, by the door.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Leroy joked and Shelby gave him a small smile, before walking over and sitting down on a spare chair.

Truthfully, she was feeling a little nervous. She knew Rachel's dads liked her and she adored them but she was worried that now Rachel knew who she was their relationship with their daughter would be strained because of her. She didn't want to be the cause of any trouble. But then again, she reasoned, her dads did invite her to come, so they must have been intending for this to happen. She looked over at her daughter and smiled, realising that this may all work out alright and she could finally have the relationship with Rachel that she'd been dreaming of for the past 18 years.

"How are you feeling, Rachel?" Leroy asked her.

She wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. On one hand she was still feeling crap after the day she'd had a school, but on the other hand she was happy that she'd found Shelby and the pair of them were getting to know each other better.

"Apart from the obvious, I'm okay. Me and Shelby have had a chat and I'm willing to give a relationship with her a try, if it's okay with you both."

"I don't see a problem with that." Hiram responded. "Leroy?"

"It's fine with me, darling."

"So how are we going to work this out?" Shelby wondered. "I mean, I can't be away from work too often and it's a lot to ask of you to keep travelling out to see me."

"Well we've already agreed that she can stay with you over spring break, which is in a few weeks."

"You said yes?" Rachel squeaked. "I can go to New York with Shelby?" Both her dads nodded, a smile passing their lips as they saw how excited their daughter was. She was like a small child on Christmas morning. "Thank you so much!"

"When do you have to go home?" Leroy asked.

"Tuesday morning at the latest."

"Okay, so we have until then to figure this out." He said, to himself as much as the others in the room. Turning to Rachel, he continued. "Rachel, love, you have to understand that if this gets out into the press, things will be very different. You won't be able to turn it off. We all have to be very careful not to let the wrong people know about this."

"I know, daddy. I don't want them to know. Plus it could affect my Broadway career. If people knew me as 'Shelby Corcoran's daughter' and not as Rachel Berry, I would never be my own person. As much as she's my idol I want to be able to make a name for myself as an individual. That way, my fame can't be seen as because of someone else. I'm going to work my way to the top like Shelby."

"You've really though this through, haven't you?" Shelby asked and Rachel blushed. Seeing this, she pushed to know more.

"I'd had fantasies about you being my mum." She mumbled, her cheeks turning even more red. "I mean, I'd noticed the similarities between us but never thought it could be true. It just made it seem more likely than Barbara Streisand being my mum." Rachel laughed.

"Are you disappointed?"

"Of course not. I think you might be even better than Barbara." This time it was Shelby's turn to blush.

The four of them sat for a while discussing everything from Broadway and Shelby's career to telling funny stories from Rachel's childhood, embarrassing the teenager.

"When she was younger she went through a phase of being obsessed with Snow White." Hiram was saying. "She had this tiny little doll and would dance around the kitchen, holding its hands and saying 'Noo Wah! Noo Wah!' because she couldn't say 'Snow White'."

Shelby laughed at this and turned to face Rachel, who didn't look impressed. She, on the other hand, was loving it. She enjoyed hearing stories about her daughter's childhood. Even though it pained her that she had missed these precious moments during her development, she was happy that Hiram and Leroy accepted her into their family and loved to tell her these tales. Plus, she knew they got a kick out of embarrassing Rachel as well.

"I'm sure you've got some of your own stories to tell, Shelby, instead of listening to these." Rachel said hopefully.

"But that wouldn't be half as fun" She laughed, though seeing the 'puppy dog' look that her daughter gave her changed her mind. "Oh, okay then"

Shelby knew that she would find that look from Rachel impossible to resist, at least for a while. However, she vowed never to let her daughter know the effect that it had on her because she had no doubt in her mind that if Rachel knew, she would use it to her advantage as much as possible.

"You're going to have to learn to become immune to that look" Leroy whispered to her, as if he was reading her thoughts. "If not your bank balance is really going to suffer. Trust me, we've learnt this the hard way." Shelby smiled at him and went on to tell Rachel about when she met the President and how she was scared of spitting on his face when she sang for him.

The next morning, Rachel decided to go for a run before everyone else woke up. She hadn't been able to go for a couple of days and wanted to take advantage of not having school to run a bit further. It also meant that she had more time to think about what had happened the past few days. It seemed that everything had been non-stop with school, glee and having Shelby around that she was grateful to have some time alone with her thoughts. She got out her iPod and put it on shuffle, smiling when _Defying Gravity_ came on. Hearing her mum singing as the role of Elphaba really made her think about how huge this news was. It seemed strange that Shelby could act so normal and Rachel could almost forget that she was famous but realising now that her mum was singing one of the most well known Broadway songs gave Rachel a sense of pride.

She thought of how Shelby had offered to take her to New York. It would be a dream come true for her. Sure, she'd been to Nationals there last year but this would be for 2 weeks and she'd be with Shelby Corcoran. She just wished that she had someone that she could share all this with. She didn't really have any close friends, apart from Kurt but they weren't really that close. Plus, he'd probably flip out completely if he knew. He loved Shelby and would go crazy at the chance to meet her. However, it would be nice to be able to talk to him about it. He'd help her with what to wear for New York and would listen to and appreciate all her stories. She figured it wouldn't be such a bad thing telling him, as long as he kept his mouth shut. He'd been nice to her and always checked she was alright after the popular kids would publically humiliate her.

Would Shelby mind if she told him? Rachel wasn't sure. She figured she should probably talk to her about it first just in case.

What if she didn't want anyone knowing? What if she was ashamed to call Rachel her daughter? After what Shelby had said earlier she knew this wasn't this case but years of bullying and hidden insecurities about herself had led her to think this could all be too good to be true and Shelby would leave her because she wouldn't be good enough for her and her glamorous lifestyle.

After running for almost as long as her body could stand, Rachel decided to start heading back home. She wanted to make a start on her homework early so that she could spend the rest of the weekend with Shelby before she left.

Shelby woke up earlier than usual after a surprisingly good night's sleep. Due to the nature of her job, she was used to touring and staying in hotels so sleeping in another bed wasn't a problem for her. She took a quick shower, put on some comfortable clothes and headed downstairs to make herself some coffee.

As she was heading downstairs, she saw the front door open to reveal an exhausted, yet happy, Rachel. They greeted each other and her daughter excused herself so that she could go and shower before her dads woke up.

When she had finished she met with Shelby in the kitchen who was in the process of making breakfast.

"Looks delicious." Rachel commented.

"Thanks. I can make the best breakfasts but my cooking skills for lunch and dinner are, well, almost non-existent." She laughed.

"They can't be that bad."

"I would prove it to you if I wasn't so scared of giving you food poisoning."

"I can teach you a few things if you want, I cook for my dads all the time." The teenager suggested.

"So you mean you can cook more than toast?" Shelby teased.

"I certainly can! Toast is just my comfort food. It's easy to make and I used to practically live off of it as a kid, which is why I just had that the other day." Rachel said, and then remembered what she wanted to ask her mother. "Shelby?" she started.

"Yeah?"

"I know we said last night that I wouldn't tell anyone about this but would you mind me telling one person?"

"It's up to you, sweetie." She smiled. She was a bit apprehensive but decided to trust her daughter's judgement.

"Really? You don't mind?"

"Of course not, but I would advise you thinking about it properly before you do. Once you tell someone you can't undo it. Are you sure we can trust this person?"

"I think so. Although I'll warn you now, he's a huge Broadway fan!"

"So are you." Shelby teased, poking Rachel in her side and making her jump. Rachel squealed slightly in shock, causing her mother to laugh at her reaction.

"That was mean!" Rachel laughed.

"Think of it as payback."

"For what?"

"I don't know but I'm sure there's something." Rachel pouted and gave a fake look of hurt, before sticking her tongue out at her mother and flicking water from the tap at her.

The pair giggled and sat down at the breakfast table to eat. It seemed so normal already that an outsider would assume they'd known each other all their lives.

"So, who's this person you're thinking of telling?" Shelby asked, out of curiosity more than concern.

"His name is Kurt. He's a guy from glee club, the one I was texting the other night that you thought was my boyfriend." Rachel laughed. "He's been there for me when the other kids at school have been saying mean things and always makes sure I'm okay. Plus, he knows what I'm going through, he was bullied a lot for being gay. It's getting better now but not everyone is being accepting still."

"He sounds like a nice kid."

"Yeah he is, although he's been bugging me about why I took so long answering his texts the night you arrived."

"Rachel, don't feel you have to tell this Kurt kid because he keeps asking." Shelby said, worrying that her daughter was feeling pressured into this.

"I don't. He's my closest friend and I know he cares about me. Plus I know it would make his year to meet you." Rachel giggled and Shelby started to blush. "We both want to be on Broadway and he's applying to NYADA as well."

"You're applying to NYADA?" She asked. The teenager nodded. "Wow, Rachel! I'm so proud of you!"

"I haven't even got in yet, mum. But I know I'll be a finalist, we both will."

Shelby smiled at Rachel calling her 'mum' again. She doubted that she would ever get used to it.

"So he's your best friend?"

"Yeah, I guess." Rachel said. "Well, my only friend." She mumbled.

Upon hearing this, Shelby's heart broke a little. She grabbed her daughter's hand that was resting on the table and looked up at her to see tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, mum." She whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, honey." She replied, pulling her crying daughter into a hug and rubbing her back gently in an attempt to comfort the young girl. She promised herself that she would do whatever it takes to get Rachel through this and help her to enjoy the last few months of her senior year.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm really sorry about the wait for this chapter. Writers block is a bitch, isn't it? I hope you like this one :) I'm really excited to write the next chapter now and hope to get it up for you within the next few days :) Let me know what you think of this one.**

Shelby sat with her daughter while she cried. She felt so helpless and, despite knowing that none of this was her fault, blamed herself for how Rachel was being treated at school. Her mind was filled with things that she felt she could have done to make the situation better. What if she hadn't given Rachel up? What if she'd asked Hiram and Leroy if she could see her earlier? What if she'd lived closer to Lima so that she would know what was happening? What if she'd done what her parents had said and become a teacher instead of a performer?

Realistically she knew that none of this would help Rachel now. She was only making herself feel worse which would make her less able to care for her daughter. She had to stay strong, for her. There was no way she could go back to how she used to be, it would only make things worse. Plus she couldn't do that to Hiram and Leroy. If they knew what she had been through they'd feel terrible and she didn't want that.

After a while, Rachel stopped crying and started to move away from Shelby.

"Are you okay now?" She asked.

"I think so. I'm sorry."

"Sweetie, please stop apologising. You've done nothing wrong and no matter what you tell yourself none of this is your fault."

"Yes it is, I'm annoying and everyone hates me. That's my fault." Rachel said.

"I don't hate you." Shelby replied, trying to make her daughter see that this wasn't her fault.

"Not yet." They young girl mumbled.

"Rachel, you've given me no reason to hate you. You're a sweet, confident girl with big dreams and there is nothing wrong with that. I bet there are loads of people that think that. Kurt and your dads for example. Besides, they are probably all just jealous."

"Why would anyone be jealous of me?"

"You're talented, you're beautiful, you're smart, you're passionate about what you do. I would bet anything that there's a lot more than that, I'm only making a judgement on the couple of days that I've known you." She said in an attempt to make her daughter feel better about herself and forget about the insecurities that years of bullying have left her with, at least for a little while. Rachel blushed at the compliments, but still shook her head. It was clear to Shelby that she didn't believe them.

"I'm not as good as you though." Rachel whispered, trying to hold back the tears that had decided to make an unwelcome reappearance.

"Of course you are." Rachel shook her head and Shelby could see just how deep these confidence issues went underneath the front she put on to hide them. Deciding that it would be best to change the subject, Shelby asked Rachel what she wanted to do for the weekend.

"I have homework to do but I'd like to do something with you after that." Rachel said. "If you want to." She added, as if scared that she was pushing her mother to do something that she didn't want to do when, in fact, she was overjoyed by this suggestion."

"That sounds like a good idea." Shelby smiled. "How about you teach me how to cook something and we can make a special meal for your dads?" Rachel nodded her head.

"And Kurt?" She asked.

"I think we should talk to your dads about this first, don't you? Then maybe we can invite him over for lunch tomorrow?"

"Okay." The younger girl agreed. She wasn't sure how her dads would react to her wanting to tell him, she could only hope that they were supportive and understood that she needed a friend that she could talk to about this. They had never met Kurt, unless she counted the times that they were briefly in the same room when congratulating the New Directions after their competitions, so knew that they would be a bit unsure about telling him their secret. For now she was just happy that Shelby had agreed to it so easily.

Rachel excused herself after helping Shelby wash the dishes and headed to her bedroom to work on her homework. It seemed even more tedious and pointless than normal when she thought back to the Broadway star downstairs, who was currently arguing with her dad, Hiram, over which was the greatest Barbra Streisand song. Hiram was saying it was _The Way We Were_, whereas Shelby argued that it was _Funny Girl_. 'Like mother, like daughter' the older man thought to himself. This made Rachel smile. It was almost as if they were a normal family, if you forget about the famous mother and the fact that there were two dads. 'With a family like this, this was probably as normal as it got' she reasoned.

Half an hour had past and Rachel had given up on her Spanish work and started on the presentation she was working on for English. She had to talk about someone who she admired and it could be anyone that she wanted. Originally she had chosen Barbra but, after meeting Shelby, she had changed her mind and was starting the whole project from scratch. This would have set her back majorly behind the rest of the class, however, she reasoned, she didn't need to do as much in-depth research when she could ask her mum anything she needed to know and even find out things that no one else knew. Yes, she though, Kurt is definitely going to be jealous. She even considered putting off telling him until after the presentation but her impatience started to get the better of her and she knew she couldn't wait another week to tell someone.

* * *

Downstairs, the conversation between Hiram and Shelby turned to their daughter.

"So has she said anything to you about school?" Hiram asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"We talked about slushies last night. She told me how the Principal wouldn't do anything about it even though, from the sounds of it, more than one person has been in to complain about it."

"That's appalling! Although I can't say I'm surprised. We met him once as parents evening and he didn't seem to have a clue about anything."

"How on earth did he get the job then?" Shelby wondered.

"No idea." He replied.

"She also said something to me over breakfast this morning. Has she ever bought any friends home?"

Hiram thought about this.

"I can't say she has, well not since elementary school, or maybe middle school. We met one guy, Finn, when he picked her up for a date. We didn't really like him. I don't think she was with him for very long though. Why do you ask?"

"She said that she didn't really have any friends, other than this one boy, Kurt." Shelby said, sadly.

Hearing this broke Hiram's heart slightly. He knew that his daughter was struggling at school but he had hoped that she would at least have some support, especially from the kids in the New Directions. They knew better than anyone what she was going through and, from the sounds of it, most of them were having the same experiences.

"Actually, that brings me on to something Rachel and I wanted to ask you." Hiram nodded for her to continue. "Rachel has been thinking about telling Kurt about me, but didn't want to do it without our permission."

"Are you okay with it?" Hiram asked.

"Yeah."

"Then I say that she can. It's really your secret as much as hers so as long as you are on board then I see no reason why she can't."

"We thought maybe we could invite him over to have lunch with us tomorrow."

"That sounds great. I think it will be good for Rachel to have someone to talk to about this, outside of the three of us. It's got to be hard on her and keeping it a secret is bound to take its toll." He said. Shelby agreed, knowing what he was talking about only too well.

At that moment, Leroy came downstairs after finishing his shower. Hiram told him what they had been discussing and he agreed with the other two adults, but only after expressing his concern about Kurt telling other people and the media finding out. Shelby assured him that Rachel knew the risks and trusted him and all three adults had trust in the young girl's judgement.

Shelby excused herself and went upstairs to tell Rachel. Her bedroom door was open so Shelby walked straight in and sat on Rachel's bed.

"Mum?" The teenager asked, not taking her eyes off the page in front of her. "Did you always know you wanted to be a performer?"

"Ever since I was a young girl." She said. "I did go through a stage when I wanted to be a teacher though, but I was never that serious about it. Why do you ask?"

"I needed to know or my English project."

"You're doing your project on me?" She asked.

"Yeah, it has to be about someone who I admire." Shelby blushed, that was probably the best compliment that she could receive, as both performer and a mother. Even receiving her Tony award was nothing compared to this in her eyes.

Rachel seemed to have no idea of the effect she'd just had on her mother and was still scribbling something down in her notepad.

"Rachel, your dads and I have had a chat and we've agreed that, as long as you're sure it's what you want, you can tell Kurt."

"Really?" She screamed. She was so excited that she could share this news with someone, and really hoped that it would bring the pair of them closer.

"Yeah." Shelby smiled. "Why don't you text him now and see if he wants to come over for lunch tomorrow."

"Ok." Rachel said, taking out her phone and sending him a quick text message. As expected, she didn't have to wait very long for a reply and frowned when she saw that he was busy, having planned to go to the cinema with Blaine. "He can't make it."

"How about tonight?"

Another text was sent and she received a very enthusiastic reply saying he was free and confirming that he would be there at 6pm. Rachel looked at her watch, seeing that the time was half past 10. That gave her plenty of time to finish her homework and then her and Shelby could cook something for dinner. It sounded perfect.

Rachel confirmed the plans with Shelby and carried on writing the speech that she would give for her English presentation, while Shelby went downstairs to tell the two men about the change of plans. The three of them set about tidying the house ready for their guest. It all seemed so normal for all of them. Shelby had learnt to appreciate times like this where she could act like a normal person without being recognised in the street or followed by the paparazzi. She loved her fans and was always happy to stop and talk but also enjoyed being able to act like a normal person. She was just happy to be able to be a mum after all these years.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here it is! This one has been really fun to write and I hope it will be just as much fun for you to read :) Please review! I love hearing what you guys think and it really motivates me to write more :) Enjoy!**

Rachel and Shelby were just putting the finishing touches to dinner when the doorbell rang. Rachel looked over to the clock, which read 17:50. 'Trust Kurt to be early' she thought to herself. Whilst Shelby put the dishes out on the table, the teenager went to open the door for her friend. 'This is it' she realised 'there's no going back'. She started to get a bit nervous but then thought to all the reasons that she was doing this and was able to calm herself down by the time she reached the front door.

"Rachel, hey! How've you been? I've been worried about you." Kurt said, pulling the young girl into a hug.

"There's been no need, really." She laughed. "I'm fine. In fact, things at home have been pretty good."

Kurt looked mildly interested, but the main focus of his attention had gone from Rachel to her house. It looked so posh and expensive, and was much more to his taste than his own house. It wasn't surprising really, his dad had done most of the decorating. The only room he'd had a say in was his bedroom, which he changed frequently. Rachel's house, on the other hand, looked like it had been decorated by someone with impeccable taste. He assumed that this was her dads, if Rachel's fashion sense was anything to go by.

"Come on through, you two! Dinner's almost ready." One of Rachel's dads called from the dining room.

"We'll be there in a second, dad." Rachel called back. She turned to Kurt. "Just put your shoes anywhere, I'll take your coat."

The young boy did as he was told. He took off his brand new shoes and put them next to a pair of expensive-looking heels. Kurt could tell they were designer and definitely did not look like they were Rachel's. His mind wondered briefly to whom the shoes might belong to, but he didn't give it much thought as Rachel had returned and the pair were now walking into the dining room.

From the door, Kurt could see Rachel's dads. One of them was sitting at the table, smiling at the two teenagers and the other was pouring red wine into the glass of a woman with her back to them. She had long, brown hair, a similar colour to Rachel's, and was laughing at something one of the older men had said. He looked to Rachel, who smiled and motioned for him to sit down next to the woman. Kurt did so and watched as his friend walked around the table to sit next to her dad.

"How long has it been since you had any first aid training?" Rachel asked her dad in a stage whisper. Kurt looked at her as if she had gone mad. He assumed that it was some inside joke as the rest of the adults were laughing. He looked to his left to see the woman he was sitting next to, who seemed to be laughing the loudest.

"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE SHELBY CORCORAN!" Kurt exclaimed, his voice even higher than normal.

Everyone else in the room laughed at Kurt's outburst.

"She is?" Leroy asked. "Why didn't you tell us, Shell?"

"I guess I forgot to mention it." Shelby smiled and turned to the practically hyperventilating teenager sitting on her right. "Hi Kurt, it's nice to meet you." The young boy could do nothing but stare in shock, until Rachel kicked him under the table.

"You know my name?" He asked, before mentally kicking himself for acting like such an idiot.

"Yeah, Rachel's told me all about you and how you've been such a good friend to her."

With great difficulty, Kurt turned his attention to Rachel who looked very amused at the whole situation. Her parents could tell she'd forgotten about her very over-excited reaction a couple of days ago.

"Kurt, this is Shelby, my mum." Rachel said proudly, and waited for her friend's reaction.

"She's your... you have a... what about...but you're..." Kurt stuttered, looking from one woman to the other and realising for the first time the similarities between the pair.

"Yes, she is my mum. Yes, she has a daughter. No, this happened before Broadway and I honestly have no idea what that last question was meant to be." Rachel laughed and her friend began to blush.

"She's..." Kurt turned his head back to Shelby. "You're..."

"Worried that this lovely dinner Rachel and I cooked is getting cold? You're right." She interrupted. At this, everyone started to eat. Shelby was pleasantly surprised, yet doubted she could make anything near as nice without her daughter's help. The family entered in to a comfortable discussion while Kurt was trying to pull himself together. Once Shelby noticed that the boy seemed more relaxed, she tried to start a conversation with him. "So Rachel tells me you're applying to NYADA?" She asked him.

"Yeah, being on Broadway is my dream. It's going to be difficult to get in though, there's so much competition."

"Oh come on, Kurt. You're a great singer. You'll have no trouble getting in." Rachel said. "Shelby, you have to listen to him sing." Kurt blushed again.

"No you don't have to." He said, worried that Shelby would think he was stupid or laugh at his high voice.

"I would love to." Shelby smiled. "You know, if you really wanted to get into NYADA, I'm sure a letter of recommendation from someone on Broadway would really boost your applications, both of you."

"You would really do that?" Kurt asked, the shock evident on his face.

"Of course, I'd have to hear you sing first though. I was planning on writing one for Rachel anyway."

Now it was Rachel's turn to look shocked.

"You were?"

"Yeah, if you wanted me to. I'll do anything to help you achieve your dreams, Rachel. You know that."

"Thank you so much." She squealed and looked to her dads who were both smiling, having known that Shelby was planning to do this already. They had even seen the draft of the letter she was planning on sending.

Once dinner was finished, they moved into the living room where Leroy went to sit at the piano. Rachel and Kurt had decided to sing _For Good_ for Shelby and her dads. The young girl started with Elphaba's first verse.

Rachel:  
_I'm limited  
Just look at me - I'm limited  
And just look at you  
You can do all I couldn't do, Glinda  
So now it's up to you  
For both of us - now it's up to you_

She looked to Kurt and gave him an encouraging smile. He carried on when Rachel finished, singing Glinda's verse as he had done when they were in New York last summer.

Kurt:  
_I've heard it said  
That people come into our lives for a reason  
Bringing something we must learn  
And we are led  
To those who help us most to grow  
If we let them  
And we help them in return  
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true  
But I know I'm who I am today  
Because I knew you_

Unbeknownst to Kurt, Rachel had caught her mother's attention while he was singing and hinted for her to sing the next part of the song. She knew how much it would mean to Kurt to be able to sing with her, but also knew he would never have the nerve to ask her himself._  
_

Kurt:_  
Like a comet pulled from orbit  
As it passes the Sun  
Like a stream that meets a boulder  
Halfway through the wood  
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
But because I knew you  
I have been changed for good_

Shelby smiled and took over, singing the words that she had sung so many times on stage.

Shelby:  
_It well may be  
That we will never meet again  
In this lifetime  
So let me say before we part  
So much of me  
Is made of what I learned from you  
You'll be with me  
Like a handprint on my heart  
And now whatever way our stories end  
I know you have re-written mine  
By being my friend_

The pair continued the song, with Leroy playing flawlessly on the grand piano in the corner of the room. By the end, Kurt had tears in his eyes. It really was a dream come true for him. It didn't even feel real. He couldn't believe that he'd just sun _For Good_ with the original, and arguably the best, Wicked Witch of the West.

After a rather long discussion about all things Broadway, Rachel and Kurt excused themselves so that they could talk in private. Kurt had so many questions but didn't want to ask them all in front of Shelby, for fear that she thought that he was prying.

By the time they reached Rachel's bedroom, the young boy's mind was filled with so many questions that he didn't know where to begin. He decided to settle for the obvious and asked Rachel how long she had known, to which she replied that she found out on Thursday.

"And you had no idea before?" He asked.

"No. My dad's had never mentioned my mother and, if I'm honest, I've been too scared to bring it up."

"Why?"

Rachel had to think about this for a minute.

"I guess, because I didn't want them to think that I didn't love them, that they weren't good enough parents." She replied.

"They wouldn't have thought that, Rach. They know you love them. I'm sure they'd have thought it was normal for you to want a mother figure in your life."

"But she'd hardly a normal mum is she?" Rachel said, smiling.

"True." Kurt laughed. "She's only one of the most famous Broadway stars of our generation!"

"I know. I still can't believe it myself. I mean, she's done so many amazing things, she's had roles I could only dream of getting, yet she acts so normal around the house. Did you know she can barely cook?"

"No, really?"

"I had to teach her and help her with what we made today." Rachel giggled. She realised that this is what she was missing most at school. She figured that it would be so much easier to get through everything if she had a proper friend and vowed to make more of an effort with Kurt.

"I don't understand how you've been able to keep this to yourself." Kurt said.

"Well I don't really want the press finding out something like this. It could damage Shelby's career and ruin mine before it's even started. I don't want to have to live in her shadow."

"I suppose you're right."

"You can't tell anyone about this, Kurt. Not even Blaine." Rachel reminded him.

"I know. I wouldn't have done anyway. This is your secret and you can do what you want with it." He reassured her.

"Thanks." She smiled, happy that she had made the right decision. "So, why don't you ask what you really want to know?"

Kurt needed no more encouragement and started asking loads of questions about Shelby. He wanted to know everything. What was she like? What had she told Rachel about Broadway? Did Rachel know anything about her that wasn't in any interviews? How did she tell Rachel? Did anyone else know? How long was she staying?

Rachel willingly answered all of Kurt's questions and the pair had a great evening. She told him everything that Shelby had said to her about her career and how she was going to go to New York to visit her in a few weeks. Kurt had got very excited at the news and agreed to help Rachel choose what to wear. They never knew what opportunities would happen and he told her that she needed to be prepared for everything.

By the time Kurt went home, it was almost midnight and they were both starting to get tired. The young boy said a quick goodbye to Rachel's parents and almost fainted with joy after receiving a hug from Shelby. Once he had gone, Rachel went up to her room to get changed into her pyjamas.

Hiram excused himself and went to say goodnight to his daughter, hoping to find out how the evening went and what Rachel was feeling.

He knocked on the door just as Rachel was coming out of her bathroom.

"Come in." She said.

"Hi, honey. Did you have a nice time with Kurt?" He asked.

"Yeah, daddy. It was amazing. We talked for ages and he was really nice."

"You sound surprised? He seems like a good kid, Rach. You need to give him more credit." Hiram replied.

"I know. I guess I'm not used to people actually caring about what I have to say. Whenever I have an idea in glee club Mr Shue or one of the popular kids will shoot me down."

"Well I don't think Kurt is like that."

Rachel made a noise of agreement and got into her bed.

"So you don't regret telling him?"

"I don't think so." She smiled. "Did you see the look on his face when he saw mum at the table?"

"Yeah, but I also saw the look on yours when you first met her and I have to say that was funnier." Her father teased. He was secretly shocked that Rachel has called Shelby 'mum' but didn't push it. He was glad that she had accepted her so easily, but he also hoped that it wouldn't affect the relationship that he and Leroy had with their daughter. "Right, I think it's time you went to sleep now." He added, seeing Rachel trying to hide a yawn. "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you."

Hiram turned off the lights and left the room, thankful that the day had gone so well.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys :) really sorry for the delay with this chapter but I've been on holiday and then really busy and haven't really had time to write. I've finally finished now though after a stressful couple of days. F****ound out today that I got into Uni so things are going to be pretty hectic for the next couple of weeks sorting everything out for that so the next update could be a while but I promise I haven't forgotten about you guys :) Enjoy!  
**

Rachel walked in to the spare room to see Shelby putting on her makeup in the mirror. She was sure that her mother hadn't noticed her come in so sat on the end of the bed until she had finished putting on her mascara so as not to disturb her. From the few times she'd tried to wear mascara, she knew the concentration required to not poke yourself in the eye.

Once she had finished, Rachel spoke up.

"Mum?" She asked.

"Oh, Rachel! Sorry I didn't see you there."

"It's ok. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, honey." Shelby replied.

"Can we go shopping? I want to get some new clothes that will help me fit in at school. My dads, well, they aren't very helpful when it comes to fashion."

"Rachel, sweetheart, you don't need to change the way you dress just because other people don't wear the same thing."

"I need a new image. I need to stand out for more than just my voice if I'm going to make it on to Broadway." She said desperately.

"Trust me, Rach, high school popularity won't make a difference when it comes to being on Broadway. It's all about being in the right place at the right time to get your big break." Shelby assured her.

"I still need to be popular. I want to look pretty and be like all the other girls. I need this for my career. You of all people should understand this. Why won't you take me shopping?" The young girl whined.

"I never said I wouldn't take you. I just think you're doing this for the wrong reasons. I know you want to fit in but you shouldn't have to change who you are in order to do that. I know that high school is difficult and there's a lot of pressure to have the right look and wear the right thing but one of the most important things to do is to stay true to yourself."

"But staying true to myself means getting a slushie facial every day." Rachel said sadly.

Shelby could see that her daughter was hurting. She knew some of what went on at school and could tell that it had left her with some deep confidence issues but she didn't want Rachel to have to change from being the lovely young girl that she'd had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few days in order to fit in with everyone.

"Okay I'll take you." Shelby agreed. "But we're only buying clothes you feel one hundred percent comfortable in." She reasoned.

She needed Rachel to learn to accept herself and not care what other people thought but she also figured that damaged confidence during high school would probably affect her even more in later life. If she was serious about having a career on Broadway like her mother, Shelby knew that she needed the confidence to cope with the negative comments and the paparazzi, not just the performing. Besides, she knew that her daughter could do that part easily, having heard how well she performed at Nationals last year and about the time she stepped up with a solo at the last minute to help her team win their first competition. She just wished that confidence would spread to Rachel's image of herself as well.

"Ok." Rachel agreed. "I'll go and get ready and see if I can persuade my dads to give me my allowance early this month."

"You'll do no such thing! This is my treat. I'm not letting you or your dads spend a penny."

"Are you sure?" The young girl asked timidly.

"Of course I am." Shelby smiled. "You're my daughter and I intend to spoil you rotten today."

"Thanks mum!" Rachel exclaimed and hugged her. Shelby's grin doubled in size and she knew she would never get used to her daughter calling her that.

A couple of hours later mother and daughter found themselves at a mall just outside of Lima. They decided not to go anywhere local in case someone recognized Rachel with Shelby and started asking questions.

After going to a few shops and being unsuccessful, Rachel started to lose hope of finding something nice.

"I'll never find anything that suits me." She whined. "I haven't looked nice in any of the outfits I've tried on today."

"Maybe we're just not looking in the right shops." Shelby suggested. "How about we stop for a coffee and try somewhere different later, somewhere you don't usually shop."

Rachel agreed and the pair made their way over to Starbucks, only to be interrupted by a group of young girls who looked excited, after having obviously recognized Shelby.

"Oh my God, you're Shelby Corcoran!" One of them screamed. Shelby looked to Rachel and smiled, both of them remembering that her friend had said the exact same thing the night before when he saw her. She mouthed a subtle 'sorry' to her daughter before putting on her show face and talking to the girls.

"Please can we take a photo with you?" Another girl asked.

"Of course." The star smiled genuinely. She loved meeting fans and talking to them, although she always found being recognized when out on her own awkward.

Rachel had volunteered to take a photo on each of the girls' phones, knowing exactly how excited they felt to be meeting one of their idols. One photo turned into many when each girl wanted an individual photo with Shelby as well. She could tell that her mother was used to this happening and was taking it in her stride, however when the teenager imagined herself in Shelby's position she almost freaked out at the thought of someone recognizing her and wanting her autograph. As she was used to getting negative attention at school, she couldn't imagine how this would feel.

Once Shelby felt that she had spent sufficient time with the girls to leave without feeling rude, she politely excused herself and the pair walked into Starbucks. When they got to the counter Shelby ordered herself a coffee and Rachel chose a hot chocolate.

"Have you heard anything from Kurt since last night?" Shelby asked her daughter as they sat down at one of the tables at the back with the sofas, hoping that she could skip Rachel's excitement over her being recognized.

"Not yet. To be honest I think he's still in shock." She laughed.

"I think you're right. Did you have a nice time talking when you went upstairs?"

"Yeah. He wanted to know everything about you." Rachel giggled as her mother blushed. "I'm glad I told him." She paused for a moment before bringing up something that had been on her mind since dinner the night before. "Are you really going to write me a letter for NYADA?"

"Of course I am, silly! I just want to give you and your friend the best chance of getting in. I know how much this means to both of you. I was in your position once, remember?"

"You went to NYADA?" Rachel asked, shocked.

"Yeah."

"I didn't know that!"

"There's more to me than what you can find out on the Internet. You of all people should have figured that out by now." Shelby giggled and Rachel blushed.

"So what was it like?" She asked, eagerly.

"It was incredible. You're going to love it!"

"If I get in." Rachel added.

"Which you will after I write you a glowing letter of recommendation." Her mother smiled. "Trust me, it's all about who you know. I'll always look out for roles for you and you'll make some great contacts at college." She continued, happy that she was able to help her daughter to reach her dreams.

The pair talked for ages. Shelby told Rachel all about her years of training at NYADA. Rachel took in every word she said. She was becoming even more excited to start college in September with her best friend and hoped it was as amazing as her mother was making it out to be. She had wanted to bring up what happened earlier but wasn't sure how to. She didn't want to seem stupid in front of Shelby for thinking it was a big deal when she figured it probably happened to her all the time because she was so well known.

They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice a familiar face walk in.

"Rachel, hi!" Mr Schuester called out, making his way over to their table.

"Mr Schue!" Rachel exclaimed. She hadn't expected to see anyone she recognized here, especially not her glee coach. Shelby turned around to see who her daughter was talking to.

"Will!" She said, shocked.

"Shelby!" Will replied, sounding equally as surprised.

Rachel just sat there looking confused. 'How did they know each other?' She wondered.

"It's been so long, how are you?" Shelby asked.

"I'm great thanks, I'm teaching Spanish at Rachel's school now. You seem to have done well for yourself." He remarked, causing Shelby to blush. "So how do you know Rachel?"

The teenager saw a look of panic flash through her mother's eyes.

"She's an old friend of my dads." She helpfully supplied. No more than a quick glance between the two women for Shelby to realize where her daughter was going with this.

"Yeah we've been trying to get in contact again but I've been so busy with the show I haven't had a chance to come and see them." Shelby added.

"Well it's great to see you again." He smiled. "Do you mind if I go and get a coffee and come and join you?"

Shelby looked to Rachel, unsure as to whether her daughter would feel comfortable with her teacher there. The teenager nodded. She had a good relationship with her glee coach and he was her favourite teacher at McKinley.

"Sure." Shelby said, moving her bag off of the seat next to her and placing it on the floor by her feet. Will offered to buy the pair another drink but they politely declined. After she was certain that her teacher was out of earshot, Rachel turned to Shelby.

"Do you think he bought that?" She asked her mother.

"He seemed to. I guess you got your acting skills from me." Shelby smiled.

"So how do you know Mr Schue?" Rachel asked but Shelby was prevented from answering by the man in question returning to their table. The three of them made small talk for a while before an idea came to Will.

"Shelby, how would you feel about being a special guest coach at our glee club?" He asked. He noticed Shelby hesitate so added, "You don't have to, I just thought that it would be good for us. The kids are in a bit of a funk regarding Regionals and I figured that maybe your expert advice could help."

Realizing that Will had misunderstood her hesitation, Shelby smiled.

"I think that it's a great idea, that is if Rachel's alright with it." She said, facing her daughter.

"You have to do it. It would be so cool. Everyone would love you and we'd definitely be able to beat the Warblers with your help and expertise. Plus you might be able to convince Mr Schue to let us do some different music." She smiled.

"There's nothing wrong with my music selections!" Will said, defensively.

"Ice Ice Baby?" She smirked. This made Shelby laugh.

"You didn't?" The older woman questioned in disbelief. Will could tell he was outnumbered and figured he would save himself the time and back down, knowing both brunettes well enough to guess that they wouldn't, no matter what defense he came up with.

"Okay so maybe that wasn't one of the best songs that I've chosen." He admitted.

"Looks like you're going to need my help." Shelby said, wearing a smirk that matched her daughters from moments before. This similarity didn't go unnoticed by Will, however he put it to the back of his mind and smiled, telling Shelby that he was really grateful for her agreeing to help them. He already knew that Shelby was leaving on Tuesday so they planned for her to come to Monday's rehearsal and, depending on whether or not she could move her flight back a few hours, she would try and attend on Tuesday as well. This made Shelby happy as she would be able to spend an extra few hours with her daughter before she left for New York.

A while later Will excused himself, having to go home and finish marking some work, and Shelby and Rachel continued shopping. They found a couple of nice pairs of jeans, a skirt and a blouse, as well as a new pair of boots for Shelby. Satisfied with their purchases, the pair began to drive home, talking about song ideas for the glee club and Rachel told Shelby more about the people in glee and their competition at Regionals. Shelby was glad that Rachel had been able to relax around her over the past few days and enjoyed every moment of time that she spent with her daughter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's the next chapter :) hope you like it! Big thanks and hugs to notnow, TheAsianWhoIsAFanzel and Galinda Upland of the upper for reviewing the last chapter. It really means a lot to me :)**

Rachel could hardly sleep with excitement. Tomorrow her mum was going to coach her glee rehearsal. She knew she'd be amazing at it. 'Hell,' she thought 'she was amazing at everything!' Rachel had spent the entire car journey back sharing her ideas with her mother, ideas that Mr Schuester never seemed to listen to. Shelby's willingness to listen to what she had to say reminded her slightly of Holly Holliday, the substitute teacher who had taken over glee while Mr Schue was sick. Miss Holliday had listened and even helped Rachel with a song that she'd wanted to perform for ages and, although Rachel didn't always agree with her decisions, the New Directions all liked her and were happy when she came back, albeit only briefly. With this in mind, along with Shelby's fame, she was sure her teammates would enjoy tomorrow almost as much as Rachel would, 'if not more,' she thought, her mind wandering to Kurt.

Across the hall, Shelby's thoughts were also on her daughter's glee club and what tomorrow would bring. She knew that Rachel was excited and had hoped that her being there would give the teenager some more confidence around school, but the more she thought about it the more she realised the risks of her going. To anyone who knew, their relationship as mother and daughter was obvious but she prayed that none of Rachel's peers would notice the similarities in the way that the two women looked and acted.

Without warning, Shelby's thoughts drifted to one, Will Schuester. She couldn't help but feel guilty for not staying in contact with him when she moved to New York. He'd been such a good friend to her when she was going through a rough patch with her parents and had even let her stay at his house, despite neither his parents nor his girlfriend, Terri, being too happy about the situation. She hoped that Will had forgiven her for not making more of an effort to stay in touch, although she was struggling to think of anyone she was still in contact with from her school days given her very busy lifestyle.

Rachel had informed her of Will's divorce during the car ride home, making Shelby glad that she hadn't bought up the subject of his now ex-wife. She had never really liked Terri, but didn't dare tell Will as it was obvious that he was completely smitten with the blonde. Personally, Shelby found her to be annoying and selfish, and she was sure that the woman in question didn't think too fondly of her either. Of course, it didn't help that Shelby was jealous as hell of Terri. She guessed that had been the start of her problems and knew that was why she hadn't stayed in contact with him. It was simple, it hurt her too much. She knew she'd be better off if she forgot about him.

Thinking back to high school made Shelby realise who would be in the class tomorrow. Rachel had mentioned that some of the New Directions were some of the worst when it came to bullying her and throwing slushies, second only to the footballers and cheerleaders. She knew that she had to control her anger when faced with these teenagers, despite all that they had done to her daughter, if she was going to keep their connection a secret from the press.

Dismissing this thought, Shelby turned over in bed and closed her eyes, hoping for sleep to come soon as she knew that she had a busy day to wake up to and needed all her energy if she was going to be in charge of a group of teenagers for a couple of hours.

The next morning Rachel woke up even more excited than the day before. She couldn't believe that Shelby Corcoran would be teaching at her glee club. Well, she still couldn't believe that she was her mum but she knew it would take a long time for _that_ to sink in.

She took a bit of extra time getting ready as she wanted to make sure she looked her best for her mum. She knew that her usual fashion sense wasn't, well, fashionable and she didn't want Shelby to be embarrassed to be seen with her. She put on her new jeans and white blouse that she bought yesterday, teamed with a pair of ballet pumps and straightened her hair. She added a red headband and, once she was satisfied with her appearance, headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Hi Rachel." Hiram called, putting his empty glass in the dishwasher.

"Morning Daddy." She smiled.

"I like the new outfit." He commented. "What's the occasion?" He then asked, confused by his daughter's change from her usual style.

"You know Shelby's helping out with glee today."

"Oh yeah."

"It's going to be so amazing. Everyone's going to love her!" Rachel said, her excitement clearly growing.

"Rach! Have you seen the time? You should have left five minutes ago!" Leroy screamed at her from the living room.

Rachel looked at the clock to see that her dad was right. She finished the rest of her banana in one mouthful whilst fishing through her bag for her car keys. She yelled at her dads to remind Shelby to be at the school for just before 3pm and rushed out of the door.

"Right guys, listen up!" Will said as he walked into the choir room later that day. "We've got a very special guest joining us for our rehearsal today." The room instantly filled with chatter, all of the teenagers wondering who the 'special guest' would be.

Rachel smirked, listening to Kurt rambling on about who it might be and asking her for suggestions. Seeing him this excited made Rachel glad that she hadn't told him last night and she knew that keeping quiet would be worth it when she saw his face when her mother walks in to the room.

"She's an old friend of mine from high school and I have a feeling some of you with recognise her." He continued.

"Oh God, please don't let it be that drunk Rhodes woman." Puck groaned. "I mean she was hot and all but she was a little crazy in the head."

"She tried to teach me and Mercedes how to shoplift." Tina added.

"Wait! She what?" Will exclaimed, having not known about this. "Never mind that now. No, Puck, it isn't April." He started. "Kids, please give a warm welcome to the amazing and talented Miss Shelby Corcoran."

Shelby stepped into the choir room, blushing at Will's compliments and internally cursing at herself for still feeling like this around him. She was met by a small round of applause, the loudest claps coming from the front row at the far left where her daughter and Kurt were seated. Not that she was surprised by this, she knew that they were two of the biggest Broadway fans around.

"Why is Rachel's mum here?" Brittany asked innocently. A wave of panic spread across Rachel and Shelby's faces, the younger woman looking to Kurt for help.

Getting the message, Kurt leaned over to Brittany.

"She's not Rachel's mum, Brit. She's on Broadway."

"Rachel's mum's on Broadway?" She questioned, even more confused.

"No, Shelby's on Broadway. She plays Elphaba in Wicked. Rachel doesn't know who her mum is." The young boy lied. Shelby gave Kurt a smile and mouthed 'thanks' at him, causing him to blush and send a small smile back.

"Yeah Brit." Santana added. "Berry is no way cool enough to have a famous mum. Sure she can sing but just think of the clothes she wears."

"I think my Gran is more fashionable than Man-Hands." Quinn added with a smirk.

"Although with her nose who's to say she's not secretly Pinocchio and has been lying so much about her mum that it's grown and grown. No wonder she wanted to get a nose job." Santana continued.

Rachel could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes. Why did they have to do this now? Why? Her mum was here and they were embarrassing her in front of the one person who she really wanted to impress.

Shelby could feel herself getting angrier with every word the two young girls were saying. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying anything that could make people suspicious. Her mind drifted briefly to what the cheerleader had said about Rachel wanting to get a nose job and she made a mental note to talk about it with her later. That thought was quickly pushed away but Will interrupting the two teenagers.

"That's enough!" He yelled. "You two have got to learn to have some more respect for everyone in this room. I would have thought you'd known better than to behave like this after the last couple of years, especially you Quinn."

"Sorry Mr Schue." The young blonde said. Will nodded at her and looked to Santana. When it was clear she was saying nothing to apologise he decided it was best to move on.

"Right, let's get started then. Shelby, the floor is yours."

"Thanks Will." The older woman smiled. "Okay everyone. As Mr Schuester said, my name is Shelby Corcoran. I've heard that you guys have Regionals coming up in a couple of weeks and was asked if I could lead a session to try and help give you the edge. First things first though, introductions."

Shelby asked everyone for their names and did her best to try and remember them. She could tell some of the teenagers were nervous and wanted to try and put them at ease a bit more. There was no way she could get the best out of them if they weren't feeling confident.

After a couple of silly warm up exercises that left everyone looking, feeling and sounding like idiots, Shelby felt the group relax a bit more. She explained to them that they were going to be working on a theatricality number together and performing it the next day.

"Theatricality isn't about crazy outfits. It's not enough to douse yourself in gasoline – you have to light yourselves on fire to make it work! Being theatrical doesn't mean you have to be a nuclear explosion. It can be like a quiet storm. You just have to express what's deep inside you. That's what theatricality is truly about." Shelby said.

'Wow' Rachel thought. 'She's really good. No wonder she made it on to Broadway.'

"Perhaps you could demonstrate?" Will suggested. Shelby was about to refuse, not wanting to steal valuable rehearsal time away from the class but seeing the pleading look on her daughter's face forced her to reconsider.

"Alright then." She smiled and turned to Brad, who was sat at the piano. "Funny Girl, E flat."

She heard the piano and took her position in the middle of the floor, instinct taking over as she performed the song.

"Funny  
Did you hear that?  
Funny  
Yeah, the guy said honey  
You're a funny girl  
That's me I just keep them  
In stitches doubled in half  
And though I may be all wrong for the guy  
I'm good for a laugh  
I guess it's not funny  
Life is far from sunny  
When the laugh is over  
And the jokes on you  
A girl ought to have a sense of humour  
That's one thing you really need for sure  
When you're a funny girl  
The fellow said a funny girl  
Funny, how it ain't so funny  
Funny girl."

She finished the song to a round of applause from the teenagers and smiled. This was part of why she loved her job so much. Seeing such a positive reaction and the joy on people's faces when she performed made all the stress of the paparazzi worthwhile.

Shelby and Will set the group to work with their song. With their combined years of experience, plus seemingly endless suggestions from Rachel and a couple from other members of the New Directions, including Finn which surprised everyone in the room, a routine was soon choreographed as the session drew to a close.

As the students gathered their bags and made their way out of the choir room, a couple of them asked Shelby for her autograph. She promised them that she would sign things tomorrow so that they could come prepared.

Rachel and Kurt hung back briefly after everyone had left to talk to Shelby.

"Shell, can I have a word with you in a minute please?" Will asked.

"Yeah sure, I'll see you in your office in a bit. Let me just talk to Rachel and her friend." Shelby responded with a smile. Will left them to it and made his way to his office.

"Oh my God, Mum you were amazing!" Rachel gushed when she was sure it was just the three of them in the room.

"Thanks Rach. You were great as well. I never realised that you were so good at dancing."

"Well she has been having lessons pretty much since birth, as we are frequently reminded." Kurt said.

"Right well I've got to go and talk to Mr Schuester. Will you be coming back for dinner, Kurt?"

"I'll have to ask my dad. I'll let Rachel know if I can."

"Ok. It was lovely seeing you again. I'll meet you back at home Rachel."

After a hug goodbye, Rachel and Kurt made their way outside to their respective cars and drove home.

Meanwhile, Shelby was just walking in to Will's office, wondering what it was that he needed to talk to her about.

"Shell, hi! I thought you were brilliant today. The kids loved you." He said as she took a seat opposite his desk.

"Thanks. I have to admit I was a bit nervous." She replied.

"Shelby Corcoran was nervous? That's not like you."

"Don't start." She warned with a smile. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I remember before you left you talked to me about being a surrogate." Will started. Shelby felt her heart begin to beat faster. Did he know? Was it really that obvious? Did that mean everyone else knew? Her mind was buzzing with questions and in the panic all she could do was nod and mumble a quiet 'yes'.

"Rachel?" He asked.

"Oh God, Will you can't tell anyone. Please. We don't want the press finding out. I can't do that to her." Shelby rambled.

"I'm not going to say anything. Surely you know me better than that Shell?" Shelby started to look guilty at this. Of course he wouldn't tell anybody. She knew that, after everything he'd done for her. "I've still kept your other, err, secret all these years."

Shelby looked away in shame. She knew exactly what Will was referring to. It was something very few people knew about her and part of the reason he had tried to warn her against being a surrogate. She'd only mentioned it to him once but knew he didn't approve. It didn't stop her though. Once she moved to New York it was clear that she needed the money and she figured that this would be the easiest way to get it. Will was always more sensible, Shelby had neglected to think about the effect that giving up a child would have on her emotionally.

"Was it obvious?" She asked him.

"Well I suspected something when I saw you together but it was what Brittany said that made me certain. You know, that girl has a reputation for being a stereotypical blonde but sometimes she's the most observant and socially smart one of the group." Will chuckled before continuing. "And no, to someone who didn't know that you gave up a child it won't be obvious."

"Thanks."

"How long has she known? She's never said anything."

"Only a couple of days. Her dads invited me to come and see her when they found out that she was being bullied."

"I'm sorry." Will said, sadly. "I've tried everything but glee club just isn't cool like it was when we were here. Rachel does seem to get it the worst though, second maybe to Kurt."

"And from what I've heard the Principal isn't much help."

"Figgins is doing what he feels he can but his hands are tied. The school board doesn't see slushies as dangerous and Sue, the cheerleading coach, seems to be able to get the kids out of any trouble they get in for bullying. Not to mention she's constantly trying to get the club disbanded so she can have a bigger budget."

"She sounds lovely." Shelby commented. "I'm sorry, Will but I should get going. I want to spend as much time as I can with Rachel before I leave tomorrow." She paused to get a pen out of her bag. Grabbing a scrap of paper from Will's desk she wrote down her phone number and told him to get in contact with her and she'd let him know next time she was in town. The pair hugged goodbye and Shelby left, knowing full well that the feelings she'd kept buried for years were resurfacing.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys :) sorry for the majorly slow update but life has been pretty hectic recently since starting uni. This really is just a filler chapter to keep you going but I hope you like it. I certainly enjoyed writing this much more than I did my coursework, hence why that is only half finished even though it's due Thursday. I would love to know what you all think of this chapter and if you have any song you'd like to see for the theatricality number in the next chapter let me know :) love you all :)**

Shelby was able to hold back the tears until she reached her car, when the gates opened and left her sobbing for a good 20 minutes in the driver's seat. She cursed inwardly. How could she let this happen? She had spent years trying to hide her feelings for Will and now, after 2 days, they had come back, hitting her like a ton of bricks, and she had a feeling that no matter what she did she would never be able to bury them again.

What Shelby was unaware of was that, while she was crying, Will had cleared away the chairs in the choir room, locked up his office and was now making his way to the staff car park. Noticing someone sitting in the unfamiliar car a few spaces down from his own, Will walked over to see who it was. He stopped short, however, when his eyes fell on the familiar long, dark hair of his old friend.

He hesitated, not sure if he should approach her but, seeing that she was crying, he felt that it would be a good idea. He hated seeing her upset and knew from experience that, no matter how much she tries to push him away, she needs someone to talk to when she's upset or she'll end up on another downwards spiral. What worried Will is that, with the stress of being in the public eye constantly, he wasn't sure she'd be strong enough to pick herself back up. Deciding that it was for the best, Will walked up to the black car and tapped gently on the window.

Hearing this, Shelby's head shot up and she came face to face with Will, the man responsible for her tears.

"Will!" She exclaimed, rolling down the window.

"Is everything ok, Shell?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Shelby replied, drying her eyes and putting on her best 'show face'.

Will just sighed and walked around the car to sit in the passenger seat.

"You and I both know that's bullshit. If you were fine you'd be back at Rachel's house enjoying spending time with her, not sitting in a school car park crying your eyes out. I'm sorry for being blunt, Shell, but you should know by now that I know you better than most, even after all these years."

"It's nothing, Will. Really, I'll be fine."

Shelby knew that Will wasn't convinced.

"Is it about Rachel?" Will asked. Shelby shook her head. "Her dads?" Again the woman shook her head. "Is it to do with being back in Lima?" He tried, knowing how much she always wanted to leave.

"No, it's nothing like that. Please just drop it. I want to get home to Rachel."

"Well then you'd better start talking or you'll never get home."

Shelby sighed. She should have remembered that Will could be just as stubborn as she was, especially when he was worrying about her.

"Look, I can't talk to you about this now."

"Can we meet for a coffee or something tomorrow during my lunch break? Rachel will be at school and you don't need to be stuck in the house alone all day."

"You're not going to drop this are you?" Shelby said.

"Of course not." Will replied and Shelby gave a small smile. "Meet you at the Lima Bean at 12?"

"Fine."

"It's a date." Will smiled.

As much as she hated to admit it, hearing Will say that gave her butterflies in her stomach. She looked away, pretending to wipe her eyes to try and hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks. She cursed at herself again for behaving like a teenager.

"So are you going to let me get back now?" She asked.

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow, take care of yourself Shell." He said.

"I will." Shelby replied and he knew she meant it.

Later that evening, as the Berry household were eating dinner, the conversation turned to Rachel staying with Shelby in New York.

"Can I go and see your show?" Rachel pleaded.

"Of course, honey. I'll give the theatre a call later and try and make sure you've got a good seat."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You'll have to come for any nights that I can't take off anyway but you don't have to stay in the audience. I'm sure some of the tech guys won't mind you helping them." Shelby smiled.

"Oh my God thank you so much mum!" Rachel screamed. To get to see Shelby perform live was one thing but to actually help out backstage would be amazing. "I can't wait to tell Kurt. He'll be so jealous!"

"Are you sure it won't be too much trouble for her to stay with you?" Leroy asked, concerned that Rachel's excitement and enthusiasm for all things Broadway would cause problems for Shelby and the crew working on the musical.

"No it's fine. Jeff, the lighting guy, is an old friend of mine. We've worked together a couple of times before. He'd love to have Rachel helping out with everything and being able to show her the ropes. Besides," She smirked, "he'll have someone else to bore with his techno-jumble other than the poor chorus members who are new to Broadway and too polite to tell him to shut up." Rachel's dads laughed at this as the young girl started to protest, claiming that she couldn't understand how anyone could find anything Broadway-related boring.

Once they had finished their meal, Rachel helped her dads with the washing up while Shelby went upstairs to the spare room to make an attempt at packing before she left tomorrow.

"Can we watch a film tonight?" Rachel asked her dads as she put away the clean plates.

"Have you done all your homework?" Leroy replied.

"Most of it. I've just got to study for a Spanish test tomorrow but it's not an important one."

"How about you study for half an hour now and then we'll put a film on." He reasoned.

"I was going to do it in my study hall tomorrow." She argued. "It's the lesson before Spanish so it will be fresh in my mind."

"Your dad's right." Hiram said. "Study for a bit now. There's no harm in doing more tomorrow as well."

"Ok fine." She whined, storming off to her room and slamming her door.

"We're going to need to fix that door again soon aren't we? It can't take many more of her diva strops." Leroy remarked.

"You're right about that." Hiram laughed as they finished cleaning the kitchen and dining room.

Twenty minutes later, Rachel came downstairs to find her parents in the living room. Claiming that she knew all of the words that would be in the test tomorrow, her fathers let her off the final 10 minutes of studying. They knew that if the film kept her awake too late she'd be grumpy in the morning and the sooner they started to play it the better for everyone.

After a surprisingly short discussion, the two women decided to watch Funny Girl, much to the older men's dismay. Sure, they loved the film but they had been forced to watch it by their daughter so many times that even they could almost recite it word for word.

Shelby and Rachel sang along to every song flawlessly. The way their voices sounded together was incredible and their harmonies worked very well. It made Shelby long for the day that she could sing with her daughter in front of a theatre full of people, but knew that it couldn't happen for a while.

By the time the film had finished, however, Rachel was exhausted and needed no persuasion to go to sleep. After the physically and emotionally taxing day, Shelby wasn't far behind her, leaving Hiram and Leroy in the living room.

"It's a shame Shell has to leave tomorrow." Hiram stated, once the woman was upstairs.

"I know. I just hope Rachel will be alright when she leaves." Leroy replied. "I mean this weekend has been great for her and she's definitely looking forward to her spring break but do you think she'll be able to go back to school and not be tempted to blurt something out when one of those kids are horrible to her?"

"I'd like to think she has enough self control to hold her tongue but if something does happen we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"I guess so. Besides, Shelby probably has a plan in place in case it does come out."

"Hopefully. We'll have to ask her about it tomorrow."

"Yeah." Leroy agreed, trying to stifle a yawn. "I think I'm going to turn in now. Goodnight." He said, getting up to give his partner a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." Hiram replied.


End file.
